Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Quest for the Light
by mythicalpalkia
Summary: After saving Sonic from being hit by Eggman's new weapon, Shadow is sent to the Pokemon World as a pokemon with no memory! When he arrives, the Pokemon World is in danger and only he can save it! Will he able to save the world and return to his own? Or will he be stuck in the Pokemon World forever?
1. Prologue

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! It is I Palkia! Arceus I really need to stop saying my intro XD Anyway, I'm back! Well not really I didn't go anywhere, ugh you get the gist. This time we're back with a Mystery Dungeon Fanfic! Yes finally, a fanfic for the Mystery Dungeon series, written by me, and it's a crossover! Woo! Amazing right? And I plan to finish it, unlike the people who don't finish their stories and they leave me with cliffhangers, and I feel bad for them as well.**

 **Anyway, I should get down to why I am writing this particular fanfic. First, this will be a Pokémon-Sonic crossover. Yeah I like to go overboard with these kinds of crossovers, I mean, both universes have humans (save for Mystery Dungeon Series, well I guess you can count the player, but there are no actual physical people standing there talking to Pokémon) both have anthropomorphic animals, and both have very powerful stones (Chaos Emeralds and Mega Stones, ooo I wonder if I will make a connection between the two in the future) But for some reason I always find myself placing these two universes together. They just make sense! Except for the part where Pokémon moves don't exactly line up with Sonic, but eh what can you do? The universes should share a multiverse that's all I'm saying! XD**

 **Anyway on to the reason why specifically Mystery Dungeon and Sonic. First of all, only one of the Sonic character will be featured as the main protagonist (and no, it's not going to be Sonic, I have someone else in mind) Basically what this means is that one of the characters will be going to the Pokémon World and NO ONE ELSE. Yeah sorry about that, I kinda figured it's best to center around one individual instead of like five or six from that universe, AND also the fact of the Pokémon already in that universe as well. I might go back to Sonic's Universe once in a while to check up on how they are doing. So only one Sonic character. Now next, the reason why Mystery Dungeon. Many times I have gone through FanFiction and have seen very little actual good and juicy Pokémon-Sonic crossovers. Heck, it's not even just Mystery Dungeon. Then there's also the fact that many remain unfinished. Darn Cliffhangers HUMANS! YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO TORTURE THE RULER OF SPACE DON'T YA? Aside from that, I have found only two or three good and juicy crossovers that are actually completed. But there's a catch: Sometimes Sonic characters are humans, sometimes they're Pokémon, sometimes they're just themselves. And majority of the time they take too much focus on other side characters than the actual ones that benefit the story. Also sometimes there's inappropriate stuff so there's that. But the point is, there are lots of crossover fanfics that remain unfinished and will never become good as the others. I intend on finishing this one, and I will make it good and juicy for ya, got it?**

 **Another reason is that every single Mystery Dungeon crossover I find focuses solely on one character: Sonic. Yeah I know, kill me all you want, but sometimes rulers of their respected element want to see different characters gain the spotlight (also the ones I have found remained unfinished so there's that) I understand it's a SONIC-Pokémon crossover, but there are other characters who could also take that spot as well.**

 **And finally, my last reason. As if it wasn't clear enough, most of the fanfics I write revolve around Shadow. I again tried finding a crossover that is solely about this dude and Pokémon, and yet I couldn't find one (well at least one that wasn't completed or juicy) But still! The guy has had amnesia before! Hello?! Mystery Dungeon focuses on a PLAYER WHO HAS FRICKEN AMNESIA FOR ARCEUS' SAKE! Also not to mention he can manipulate time and space! There are Pokémon of time and space (cough cough ME cough cough DIALGA cough cough) and these Pokémon for some reason don't get featured in a star role in many fanfics I've seen. Also the different dimensions mentioned in this series, NOT TO MENTION THE POWER OF THE MEGA STONES AND OTHER SUPERNATURAL THINGS IN THE POKÉMON UNIVERSE! Ugh, sometimes I go on rants about other fanfics. Well a wise Pokémon once said, "If one cannot make something to satisfy another's pleasure, then one must make it for their own pleasure." And that wise Pokémon is me XD**

 **Anyway so this fanfic will be about Shadow going to the Pokémon world, turning into a Pokémon, and meeting some new friends. I feel like Shadow gets mistreated too much with his amnesia, but this time, while he has amnesia, he does not suffer as he usually does. Instead he'll find something else. What is that something else? Beats me I haven't gotten that far yet XD All jokes aside, as in the words of Shadow, "You'll find out." Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Also one thing, I do not own Pokémon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

A team of animals ran through the base, destroying every robot they could find in their path. The group consisted of six members. They were lead by two hedgehogs. One was blue, with quills pointing downward, and emerald colored eyes. He was a carefree hedgehog who loved the sense of adventure. The other was a black and red ebony hedgehog. His personality, however, was much different than his blue counterpart. This one was more serious, having gone through so much trauma and torture in his life. But that did not matter to him now. He had gotten over his past a long time ago. Now he was focused on something else. And that was breaking into the Doctor's base.

G.U.N. had given him information on what the Doctor was up to. The Doctor had created a new weapon, one that could cause so much pain and destruction to the population of the world. So he was sent in to destroy it. Although, G.U.N. did not want him to go in alone, when clearly he could handle the situation himself. Then, he thought, it wasn't really G.U.N. wanting him to go in alone. It was more so Rouge than the actual organization itself.

"You really want to go in by yourself don't ya?" he remembered her saying. "Yes," Shadow had said in repliance to her question. "Well," she went on. "They say Eggman's new weapon can cause major amount of damage. The data we've collected on it describes its energy level as very high, and can possibly level mountains." "Sounds like a smaller Eclipse Cannon," he said. Shadow began to think about the planet-destroying cannon that was located on the ARK. If the Doctor had gotten the plans to make a smaller one, then he could only imagine how much damage it could do to the planet. Even Sonic wouldn't be able to withstand a blast of that magnitude. "I have a feeling we'll need some help with this one…" Rouge trailed off. "No," Shadow immediately said. He knew where she was going with this. When she meant help, she meant Sonic and his annoying friends. Oh how Sonic annoyed him to no end. Besides, it would be much better for him to go in by himself and get killed than have everyone go in and everyone gets killed. Though every time he does go in with a group, he usually is the one that has a near death situation.

"I'm calling them anyway," Rouge stated. Even though Shadow didn't admit it, she knew that needed help. If Eggman was capable of building something like that, the world would be in danger. She had to call them. "I know you don't want Sonic," Rouge continued. "But face it Shadow. This weapon will bring massive destruction as if it was the Eclipse Cannon. Last time you tried to stop that thing, you needed Sonic. I don't care whether or not you agree with me. I just want you and everyone else to be safe."

He sighed. Shadow knew she was right. What would have happened if he had taken a blast from that thing? There would be no one to stop it. As much as he regretted saying, he said it anyway. "Fine," he answered. Rouge smiled. "But just this one time," Shadow said sternly as if he was giving her a death warning.

And so their little group got together to infiltrate the Doctor's base. Of course Sonic showed up. Anything having to do with the Doctor made him show up. It also gave Shadow a headache as he heard Sonic's cocky voice. Tails, the fox genius, as well as Knuckles, the guardian of the Master Emerald, and Amy, Sonic's stalker, well at least that's what Shadow liked to call her, also showed up. He had figured they would come. The foursome themselves thought they made a good team. And heck they did.

Tails had come up with a plan to infiltrate the base. There was one part of the base that was surprisingly unguarded. Shadow wanted to question this, after all he highly doubted that the Doctor would leave a part of his base unprotected, but he decided to shrug it off. He knew that the others would want to take the easy way in instead of the hard one, and do they did.

And that's how they ended up there at this moment. Surprisingly, there were no robots or any of the Doctor's minions. "Strange," Shadow thought. "Why are there no robots in sight? The Doctor must be up to something. There is absolutely no way he would leave part of his base unguarded. This must be a trap."

The team entered a strange room. It was completely dark. Then Shadow heard Tails' voice. "I'm getting a very high energy reading in this room," he said. "This must be where the weapon is!" "Are you sure about that Tails?" said a voice. Shadow recognized that voice. It was Sonic. " Hahahahaha! Are you sure of yourself Sonic?" a voice echoed through the room

It was the Doctor.

"You honestly think you can break into MY base and destroy the weapon I created? You fools. I purposely left an opening so you could come in and trap you!" "I had a feeling you would do something like that doctor," Shadow stated. "Excellent work Shadow," the echoey doctor's voice replied. "But that won't get you anywhere." "What are you planning on doing?" asked Knuckles. The echidna was clearly worked up. "Well Knuckles," said the doctor's echoey voice. "I'm glad you asked. For that, all I can say is that you will find out. And when you find out, all of you will be destroyed. I cannot allow you to find out the information, and so, I figure I'd tell you anyway because you will all die here!"

As he spoke, the lights came on in the room, which blinded everyone for a moment. Shadow looked up and saw him. The doctor was there. He was on a metal platform above them all. Next to him was a giant cannon-like weapon. It was entirely encased in steel, with the tip of it being a deep gold. The symbol of the Eggman Empire was on its side.

"Behold," the doctor said. "Witness the beauty of the Egg-Mension Cannon! Hahahahaha! With this weapon I created, I will finally make the Eggman Empire come into being!" As he spoke, hundreds and hundreds of robots descended upon the area. The entryway in which the team came in was shut by a think plating of steel. This happened to the other exits as well. Now there was no way of escaping. They would have to fight in order to get out.

"Tails," Amy cried out. "How much energy is in that that weapon?" "I don't know!" Tails replied. "My scanner overloaded when I tried to get a reading!" "What!" Sonic said in surprise. Even Shadow was shocked, though he tried his best not to show it. If Tails' device overloaded because of the amount of energy coming from that thing, then he would have to get rid of it for good. "If that's the case," Rouge stated. "Then we have to destroy it!" "Hahahaha!" the doctor began to laugh. "Destroy my machine? Well isn't this going to be fun...Robots, ATTACK!"

* * *

The entire room was enveloped in mass chaos and destruction. Everyone was trying their best to get rid of the robots, but they just kept on coming. However, the doctor knew he was running out of forces, and so he turned on his communicator in order to talk to a certain Metal hedgehog.

"Metal Sonic!" He called. "Get in here quickly! The hedgehog and his friends are destroying my army one by one and getting closer to the cannon. My defense squad is running out! Come now and crush that blue pincushion!" Shadow could tell he was angry. "Hmm," he scoffed. "Should've hired a defense squad for the defense squad, eh doctor?" "This ain't over yet Shadow!" The doctor yelled.

As the two were battling each other with words, the doorway exploded open. Metal Sonic arrived. Once he came in, the doctor beckoned the metal hedgehog to come to him. He whispered something into Metal Sonic, probably a command, and the robot nodded in compliance. No one was able to hear the command through the noise of the chaos. Then Metal Sonic rose and flew straight into Sonic, who was fighting another one of Eggman's robots, and pinned him down.

"Let me go!" he cried out in agony and pain. The metallic hedgehog had Sonic on the ground and was not moving an inch. Everyone was too focused on fighting Eggman's goons that no one noticed Eggman firing up the cannon. However, one did notice this. Shadow did. His hearing was very sensitive, and he could feel the gathering of energy from a mile away. Shadow looked up to see the doctor powering up the weapon. He knew what was about to happen. Metal Sonic holding down Sonic, and Eggman would kill him. There was no way out of this situation without someone being a sacrifice. And Shadow was willing to be that sacrifice.

Shadow began to run, running as if the fate of the world was on the line, as if he and a certain blonde hair girl with blue eyes were running down a hallway again. It was true, the fate of the world was on the line. If Sonic was killed, not only would barely anything would stop the doctor, but the blast could also have killed everyone else in the room. He had to take a risk. Shadow would be able to absorb the energy from the cannon. How much energy said cannon provided was a mystery to him. At least he had to take a chance at absorbing it all.

The doctor began to fire up the weapon. He had set it to a certain setting. This was specifically meant to kill someone. At least those with normal DNA. But what he did realize when making the cannon was that the energy couldn't be absorbed, and the doctor knew that the cannon supplied too much for someone to absorb it anyway. Nonetheless, he would fire it anyway. The cannon was powered by the chaos emeralds. The amount of emeralds you have depends on the cannon's power. Fortunately, the doctor had seven of the emeralds, for some odd reason. Apparently no one even knew he had them all in the same place. Even Sonic or Shadow didn't detect an emerald the last time they broke in here. But that did not matter to him now.

He placed the emeralds in their own specific places and began to charge it up. Shadow kept on running like there was no tomorrow, as if the future wasn't going to exist, along the way he kept destroying every single robot that was in his way. "Dang," he thought. "I'm not going to make it in time!" Sonic was still struggling to get out of Metal's grip, but it was to no avail. Shadow felt as if the room was endless. Mid-run, he took off his Inhibitor Rings and ran like his own life depended on it. But it was still not enough. Shadow than did the only thing he could do at the moment. He tapped into his own life force to use as energy to run. It was just enough to get him there.

As Sonic tried to get away from the heavy metal hedgehog, he saw a bright light begin to form above him. It was the cannon. And there was the doctor, laughing an evil laugh. "Hahahaha!" The doctor laughed. "This is the end of the line hedgehog! Goodbye Sonic! And fire!"

The cannon fired.

Sonic couldn't believe his eyes. His life was about to end right before him. He would never get to say goodbye to anyone or do some of the things he wanted to do. He closed his eyes and braces himself. The others were seeing what was happening and could not believe it either. Yet they could not do anything because they were too far away.

Then, Sonic began to feel pain. More specifically, he felt pain on the side of him. Next he could feel a great weight being thrown off his shoulders. Metal was thrown back. Had the blast already hit them both? No truly it didn't happen that fast. And wasn't the cannon fired directly at them? The force of the pain began to grow stronger and stronger. Eventually Sonic was pushed off the ground. He looked to his side to see what was causing this, only to be left in shock.

It was Shadow. He had made it to Sonic before the others could. Shadow was fast enough to pick him out of the way. His rival, who he thought he didn't even care about him, was saving him from Eggman's wrath. How is this possible? Then he realized something. Sonic himself would be spared from the blast, but Shadow would be in the crossfire. He would die, and Sonic knew this. As if it was the only thing he could say at the time, Sonic cried out to his rival. "SHADOW!"

Sonic was thrown to the other side of the room. Shadow was lying there on the ground, his energy levels depleted. He had pushed himself too far this time. Shadow had tapped into his own life force. Such a thing he knew he was capable of doing, but he had never done it before. Probably because if he did, he would end up killing himself afterwards. But that did not matter to him now. The pain and misery would be over soon. Because he had tapped into his life force, Shadow was unable to move. Therefore, unable to escape the impending doom that waited for him in a beam of white light, which was powered by the seven chaos emeralds. He looked over at everyone else. The shock on their faces was phenomenal. However, Shadow knew his time was up. He closed his eyes and tried to say something with his mouth, but he couldn't. His head then fell to the ground as the beam of light and energy was approaching him.

The energy blast hit Shadow.

He felt no pain. It was strange. Rather it was a different feeling. A tingling feeling began pulsing through his body. Was he absorbing the energy from the blast? No that was impossible. Shadow absorbing a blast that was powered by SEVEN chaos emeralds? Maybe it was possible, maybe it was probable. He did not know. Before he even knew it, his entire world was becoming a bright white light.

Everyone had seen this happened. Shadow had pushed Sonic out of the way, only for him to be hit by the cannon instead. Then the area exploded into light. They all covered their eyes, shielding them from the light so that they would not go blind. There was a blast that knocked everyone of their feet. Sonic couldn't believe happened, even after witnessing it first hand what occurred.

At last there was silence. The cannon's energy beam had stopped. White light that once covered the entire room was gone. Sonic struggled to get up, for the blast did a number of damage on him, even though it wasn't fatal. Finally he stood up and looked around. The blast had distorted everything in the room. He looked over at his friends, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Rouge. They were getting up as well. Sonic sighed with relief. All of them were okay. Wait. Not all of them. Reality had hit him in the face again. Shadow. Where was Shadow? No, no he can't be, his mind screamed. Sonic then noticed a huge crater in the middle of the room. This was made by the cannon, for sure. As he neared the crater, his friends began to move towards the crater as well. They all had the same thought in their minds. Where was he? Was Shadow alive? Or was he dead? Hopefully not the last answer. Then they had reached the top of the crater. It was huge. It went at least 10 or 20 feet down into the ground. The cannon did a good amount of damage. But at that moment, it didn't matter how deep the crater was, or how much damage the cannon caused. All that mattered now was what was in the epicenter of the crater. Everyone gasped in horror.

Shadow. He was there.

They all ran down as quickly as they could to help the poor hedgehog, with Sonic getting there first. The doctor had witnessed the event. "No!" he yelled out. "This wasn't meant to happen! Sonic should be dead! Not...not him!" Even the doctor was surprised by the sudden turn of events. The fact that Shadow sacrificed himself for Sonic was unheard of. Did he actually care about him? For once in his life, did Shadow the hedgehog care about someone enough to risk his life? Apparently he did. If he didn't, Shadow wouldn't be in that crater, lying there practically dead.

Sonic got down there, as well as everyone else. They all gathered around the supposedly dying hedgehog. Rouge went out in front of Sonic and tried to touch he ebony hedgehog with her hand. But, she was unable to do so. There was something odd about the hedgehog though. His body was no longer physical. Rouge's hand went right through him. She gasped. What had the blast done to him? "Shadow?" she called out. No answer. "Shadow?" she called out even louder. There still was no answer. Knuckles came up to her. He said something in her ears. "I'm sorry," he whispered somberly. Amy, Rouge, and Tails were trying to hold back their tears.

Even Sonic was full of sadness. "I wish I could've done something!" he yelled out. Tears were forming around his eyes. "Oh Shadow! Why do you always have to be the hero? Why must you risk your life for everyone! I'm...I'm…" Sonic began to cry in agony. If anything, he wished he was the one to die. Not Shadow. Shadow has had a terrible life, and he deserved so much more. And now Sonic could do nothing about it. Shadow was dead. "I'm sorry!" he cried out, reaching for Shadow in order to touch him. As he did, though, Shadow's body began to do something.

His body was fading.

Sonic gasped. Shadow's body was beginning to fade away. "No!" he cried out, as he was still crying. "Don't go Shadow! Please!" Despite all of Sonic's pleas, Shadow's body still began to fade away. He was becoming even more transparent by the second. At last, Sonic reaches out to him, but when he did this time, the ebony hedgehog's body completely disappeared into nothingness.

"No," Sonic said between his tears. "No, Shadow, no….no… SHADOW!" At that moment, Sonic's features began to change. The seven chaos emeralds danced around him as he began to absorb their power. His blue fur was replaced with a bright gold. Sonic's quills flowed upwards. The emerald eyes that were once filled with happiness and joy were now a ruby red and filled with rage and revenge, revenge for the friend he had lost because of his actions.

He charged at Eggman's machine, destroying it in seconds. Then, the entire buildings was encompassed in a bright light. Sonic teleported his friends out of there to a safe distance just before the building exploded. However, Eggman still survived. That did not matter now. Sonic was back in his normal form, staring at the burning building from a mile away on a hilltop. He turned to see Rouge crying. She was grasping Shadow's inhibitor rings. Sonic came up to her and spoke.

"I'm sorry for what happened," he admitted. This was the truth, and Rouge knew it. "It was my fault that he died," Sonic continued on saying. "If only I was able to get out of there… If only…" "There is nothing you or either of us can do now," Rouge said. She was right. Even though Sonic could use the power of the chaos emeralds to travel through time to fix this, it would end up breaking the space-time continuum because of his future self seeing his past self. Rouge began to speak again. "All we can do now is hope he is in a better place." Sonic nodded. They had to accept that Shadow was dead, not matter how hard it was to accept. He was gone, forever this time. "I was thinking of preparing a burial service for him," Rouge stated. "I was having these old things buried because there is no body." She held out Shadow's inhibitor rings. They were the last part that remained from Shadow. Since Shadow's body was supposedly disintegrated, it was only natural to bury the last part of him. "I can help you with that if you want Rouge," Sonic asked. He really did want to help. He wanted to comfort his friend for her loss. "I would like that," she answered back. "Thank you."

The two of them walked from the hilltop towards home. However, Sonic turned around once more. He wished to say his goodbye. And so, he spoke his final words into the wind.

 _Sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog._

* * *

Bright light swirled around the being. He was traveling somewhere, but he did not know where. The being was still unconscious from the damage he had taken.

Then he suddenly woke up from his state of unconsciousness. " _Ugh,_ " he groaned. The being began to notice the swirls of energy around him. _Where… where am I?_ He thought. For some reason unbeknownst to him, the being could not speak. It was odd, like his mouth and face did not exist. Because they didn't.

The being looked at himself once more. He could not see his arms or legs. Heck he couldn't even see his own body. What had happened to him? What is his current state right now? He could not see himself. All he could see was what was around him. His body no longer existed. The only thing that existed now was…

His very soul.

He was shocked by the idea. To think that his soul was not apart of his body anymore. Then it hit him. The being remembered pushing Sonic out of the cannon's range. He himself was hit with the blast instead. _He died,_ the being thought. Then, as if death itself had come, a strange voice encompassed his thoughts.

 _ **Welcome Shadow…**_ It said telepathically. The being could not see a physical entity making the noise. All he heard was its _voice_. It was as if the thing that was talking to him was a soul as well. When he heard his own name he answered back.

 _Who are you? How do you know my name? And where are we?_ Shadow questioned.

 _ **To answer your first question,**_ the voice began to say _ **. It doesn't matter who I am. You will forget me when you leave…**_ Forget the voice when he leaves? What did that mean? Was his mind going to be erased of the voice?

 _ **To answer your second question, the voice continued. I know every being in the universe and their actions. Even you…**_

 _ **And to answer your last question, I am taking you somewhere…**_

 _Where are you taking me?_ Shadow asked.

 _ **It will be revealed in time,**_ the voice answered.

Shadow became nervous. He then asked another question. _Am I? Am I?_ he stuttered. _Am I dead?_

 _ **You are not dead,**_ the voice replied. Shadow let out a sigh of relief. _**But…**_ the voice began again. Shadow became nervous and fearful again.

 _ **Do not worry Shadow…**_ the voice said, trying to comfort his pain. _**You and your life are about to take a different turn in your destiny. There will be some things that you must learn to overcome. And there will be new allies and friends to meet.**_

 _Where are you taking me? Shadow repeated again. Why was I chosen?_

 _ **You will find out soon, Shadow…**_ the voice said, becoming quieter and quieter. _**You were chosen for a propose…**_

The voice faded out completely. The only thing Shadow could hear was silence. Dead silence. All he could do was stare are the swirls of energy that we're flying right past him…

* * *

 **Author's Endnote**

 **And that's the end of the prologue! Eggman ends up "killing Shadow," Sonic and his friends are about to mourn him, and Shadow's soul is being taken somewhere. Oooo I wonder where?**

 **Anyway here's a bit of trivia. When writing how Shadow responds to Eggman, he always refers to him as the doctor. I guess he sees Eggman as a higher figure than just Eggman, oh well. Another thing was that supposedly death scene of Shadow. It the 20th Pokémon movie, I Choose You!, Ash protects pikachu from the other Pokémon's attacks, which result in a beam of light heading toward him. After the beam collides, Ash's body begins to fade away and becomes nothing, resulting in his death. Well of course he for some reason comes back but I won't get into that now.**

 **Next time we'll be getting into the World of Pokémon. Ahhh! I can't wait to choose the Pokémon Shadow will be. I'll keep it a secret but I think I really haven't decided yet truthfully. Maybe if you guys could leave me some suggestions on starter Pokémon that would be great? Ideas on what Shadow could become and maybe how it would tie into the story a bit.**

 **Anyway, be sure to leave me some comments and reviews down below! If there is anything you think I should fix or something about the story you really liked, then tell me! I always appreciate comments as the help my story grow better and flourish.**

 **That's about enough for now. Until next time Universe, See ya!**

 **Palkia**


	2. Ch1 Death, Realization, and a Quiz

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! I am back with Chapter 1! Woo! Thank you so much to those who reviewed and favorited and followed my story! It means a lot to me and you guys made my day! I can't wait to start this chapter, it's going to be interesting to say the least. Anyway, on to the story!**

 **I do not own Pokémon or Sonic the Hedgehog.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Death, Realization, and a Quiz**

It was raining that day at Shadow's "funeral." Well it wasn't really a funeral. His physical body had faded away, so it was more of a service for him. Shadow's inhibitor rings were placed on a table, along some pictures. These pictures had some of the others in there, such as Sonic and Rouge.

Everyone showed up. Even Eggman, the one who killed him, had showed up. He was truly sorry for what he had done. That energy blast was meant to hit Sonic, and yet it did hit Shadow. The guy has had a pretty hard life. Having to grow up as an experiment, always being mistreated by the scientists who created him, save for Gerald Robotnik, Eggman's grandfather, and Maria Robotnik, Gerald's granddaughter and Shadow's only friend. Then his life was taken away from him when G.U.N invaded the ARK. Maria was killed, so was Gerald, and Shadow was scarred for life.

Sonic had read the summary of Shadow's life. He told of the Ark Incident, of how he and Shadow met, how he supposedly died saving the world, and again how he saved the world from the Black Arms. He cried the entire time he read it. Sonic said how he'd wish Shadow was here and that he was dead. Shadow did not deserve this. Surely, for someone as shut out from the world and cold hearted as he was didn't deserve something like this.

The service seemed to go on forever and ever. Finally, as if Dialga was born into the universe again and time flowed, it was over. Everyone stood at the cemetery. Though, there wasn't anything really to bury, so all they did was place a gravestone to where, if Shadow's body was still around, he would be buried. As time passed on, more and more people began to leave his grave. At last, no one was left.

That night, Sonic stood on his roof, looking up at the stars. _Was he among them?_ Sonic thought. He did believe in the concept of heaven, he just didn't know how it works. Is it that you are placed among the stars? Or is it that your soul goes to paradise? At least your own version of paradise? Sonic wouldn't know until the day he died. That, however, wasn't coming any time soon.

"Shadow," Sonic said. He didn't know if was talking to the ghost of the hedgehog or if it was just the wind. All he could hope was that the hedgehog could hear him.

* * *

He floated there as the swirls of energy flew past him. How long was this going to take? He was going somewhere, but he had no idea where. The voice hasn't spoke to him since their first meeting. Where was it now?

"Shadow…" a different voice echoed. He knew that voice anywhere. It was Sonic's voice. _Sonic?_ he answered weakly. Shadow felt so tired and drained of energy. He was hoping for the blue hedgehog to answer him. Shadow wanted to know where he was. True, the voice said he wasn't dead, but was he really though? Or was he just in a coma, dreaming the entire thing this whole time. He just hoped that he was dreaming.

Did he ever want to be dead? Well, could he really die? To be, or not to be? That is the question. Shadow did sorta want to be dead, in which he could see his childhood friend Maria once again, after she was killed on the ARK fifty years ago. But then again, could he die? Shadow was immortal. He didn't need food or water, never aged, would never get an illness, and could survive the most catastrophic of blows. Heck, he fell from space down to Earth and survived the incident. Even though he was slightly singed and he had amnesia, his body was fully functioning. Then Shadow thought about the people who cared about him. Sure, they would miss him. They would want him back, especially Sonic, who he saved and pretty much threw his life away for at the time. Why does he do this? Why does he throw his life away for people that barely matter to him?

* * *

And as if a miracle happened, Sonic got an answer.

 _Sonic?_ A voice called. It was Shadow. Sonic had no idea how the dead hedgehog had heard him, but he was glad he did. He wanted to jump in the air as high as he could just because a spirit answered his plea. Well, of course, this spirit was his friend, right?

"Shadow?" Sonic said again, answering the reply with a question. He began to wonder about something. Was this the real Shadow? Yes, he was rejoicing when he heard his voice, but was it the real him? Spirits have been known to trick others into thinking that the real spirit of their loved ones were there. However, the person who was alive would be tricked into getting themselves killed.

* * *

Sonic had answered back to him. Even though it was in the form of his name, Shadow felt relieved. Finally he could get some answers about what happened and where he was. Though he was getting impatient when Sonic didn't answer back to him.

 _Answer me Faker..._ Shadow said. There was no response. _Faker? Sonic?_ Still, no response came. Had he lost his connection to Sonic? _Please Sonic!_ He begged him. Shadow did not want to be alone again. _Sonic! Answer me! Please! SONIC!_ He wanted to cry so badly, but he knew he couldn't because of his current state, but the sadness was still there. Shadow had lost his only connection to the real world. He was all alone again.

 _ **Do not fear Shadow…**_ another voice said. It was the original one he first met. _**You will see him again…**_

 _But when! How! Where! Will I ever see Sonic, Rouge, Omega, and everyone else ever again?_ He pleaded. Shadow wanted answers. And he wanted them now. The conversation he had, even though it was short, had given him hope that he would see them again.

 _ **You will see them again…**_ the voice answered. _**Now… I have something you need to do for me...**_ It continued. _What does this have to do with me?_ Shadow asked. _And why does it have to do with me?_ _ **Patience Shadow…**_ the voice said. _**All you have to do is complete a quiz…**_

* * *

Eggman had returned home that night from the service. He had gotten over the fact that Shadow was dead. Or so he thought. It did come with positives. Shadow wouldn't be around to help Sonic anymore. The blue nuisance for some reason needed Shadow's help in dire situations. Probably because the blue pincushion couldn't control the powers of Chaos like Shadow could. If anything, Eggman hated Shadow more than Sonic. The black hedgehog had tricked him into sending the ARK towards the Earth, foiled his plans even faster than Sonic, and even tried to kill him once. At least Sonic just destroyed his plans, and at least Sonic was easier to deal with when he was around than Shadow.

His base was a mess. Super Sonic had done a decent amount of damage to the base. He couldn't blame him. The hedgehog was in rage when Shadow died. But why? Maybe it was because Sonic thought it was his fault his friend died. Eggman will never know. It's not like he can read the hedgehog's mind.

The broken Egg-Mension Cannon was put in a corner of the base. There were no chaos emeralds to power it, since all of them scattered after Sonic's super transformation ended. To be honest, Eggman thought it wouldn't kill anyone. He wanted to send Sonic somewhere else. Heck, it would be effective and his plans would be set into motion because Sonic would have no way of getting back. As far as the Doctor knew, there was nothing similar to the Chaos Emeralds in any dimension except the Sol Emeralds in Blaze's Dimension. However, he made specific calculations so the blue nuisance would not be sent there.

As he stood there looking at the broken bucket of bolts, he wondered about something. He had never really truly tested it out on something before. What if the black hedgehog wasn't dead? Perhaps the body fading away like that was a side effect of the cannon. If he wasn't dead, then what? Where was he? The Doctor had programmed it to send someone to a dimension, he just didn't specify the exact dimension. Though, Eggman didn't exactly know whether Shadow was dead or not. If he's not dead, then that means his cannon had worked. Perhaps there might be a way to rebuild it? If so, he could possibly reengineer it and fix it to his own liking. The cannon needed a lot of energy. So he would have to find the chaos emeralds again. That would time a ton of time for sure. He groaned, thinking about how many times it will take for him to get the emeralds again, not to mention the times Sonic will intervene with his plans. But if he were able to get the emeralds, Eggman would no longer have to deal with that hedgehog and his friends anymore. He would send then to another dimension, one of his choosing, and they would never come back. Although… it would have to be a different dimension than the one Shadow is in currently. It might not seem possible, but Shadow has been known to travel through time and space before, however it would take assistance from someone else to get home. If Sonic and Shadow were in the same dimension, there was a risk of them getting back here. So he would have to choose one that he thinks is suitable for the blue nuisance and his friends that does have Shadow there already. It would take time, but it would work out in the end.

At that moment, he began to laugh. "Hahahahaha! Just you wait Sonic! The Eggman Empire will come out on top! One day you will never see your beautiful home ever again! As for Shadow, you'll never see him again! Even if he is alive or dead!" The Doctor began to collect the pieces of the broken cannon and carried some parts. He looked through the hole in the roof. It had become night outside. Silently he whispered, "Good luck Shadow...you're gonna need it…"

* * *

Sonic just stood there. He never got an answer. "Shadow?" he asked. There was no answer. "Shadow!" Sonic yelled. There was still no answer. "SHADOW!" he yelled as loud as he could. The yell echoed through the silent valley. No one was around to hear it. Finally the last of Sonic's voice could no longer be heard. Sadness went through Sonic, for he could no longer hear his lost friend. Then someone answered him, but it was not Shadow.

 **Do not worry about him Sonic…** the voice said. Sonic didn't recognize the voice at all. However, he did translate the words that the voice had spoken. Do not worry about him. Do not worry about him? But why? What has happened to him? Is he alive? Is he dead? Where is he? Sonic felt like he had a million questions stuck in his head.

 **I understand you have many questions about your friend...** the voice replied. "How…" Sonic tried to say but the voice interrupted him. **I can read your thoughts,** the voice answered him. Well there was no point on thinking about anything now. Sonic asked a few questions.

"Where and what has happened to Shadow?" asked Sonic, with a worried look on his face. **Do not let your curiosity take over you,** the voice answered him. **Shadow is where he needs to be and that is all you need to know…**

"But why?" asked Sonic. "Why is it so important that I must not know where he is? Why is he the one involved? It should be me that's dead! Not him!"

 **Patience Sonic the Hedgehog...** the voice said. **That is why you were not chosen…** Chosen? What did this voice mean by chosen? And chosen for what exactly?

 **Shadow was chosen for a reason,** the voice continued on. **He was chosen because of his courage and bravery. His heart is the purest of all, and it shines brighter than any star in the sky.**

"Pure?" Sonic said sarcastically. "Shadow's heart the purest of them all? His heart is as pure as a new moon."

 **You may think that,** the voice replied. **But that is not what he truly is. He has so much potential inside of him. Shadow does not realize this only because of his never ending grief. He has been misguided throughout his entire life, never knowing who to follow, never having a true chance at a free will. That is true, is it not?**

It was true. Shadow had been manipulated like a robot his entire life. First being given false memories by the professor to destroy the planet, then he got amnesia, was then used by Eggman when he thought he was going to get answers to his past but he didn't, last he was used by Black Doom as a pawn in order to gather the chaos emeralds. However, when Sonic thought about it for a bit, he, in a way, and also everyone of his friends, had at least once made fun of Shadow or used him in some sort of means to get the chaos emeralds. Sonic felt ashamed by this. He looked down at the ground in shame.

 **I see…** the voice said. **So now you have realized what you have done… do you understand why he was chosen?**

Sonic has to say something. Although he hated to admit it, he was jealous of Shadow most of the time. His rival was heck of a lot stronger than he was, and Shadow had chaos abilities that Sonic couldn't even use unless he had all of the chaos emeralds together. He had envied Shadow from the very beginning they met. Though in this time, Sonic had to realize why he wasn't chosen for a purpose, for what said purpose was will remain a mystery to him.

"Yes, I do," Sonic replies. "I understand why Shadow was chosen. But what is he needed for is my question?"

 **As I have said before,** the voice replied. **I cannot tell you. But I will leave you with something…**

"What is it?" asked Sonic.

 **Before I tell you…** the voice continued. **You, Sonic the Hedgehog must promise that you will never tell a soul about this until you have figured out what this means…** Sonic nodded his head in response. He had always kept his promises in some way or another. **Very well…** the voice answered. **Prepare to listen…**

 _Seven shall rise,_

 _And seven shall fall,_

 _Others will try,_

 _But one will stand tall,_

 _The light will go out,_

 _Never in one's heart of might,_

 _But there must be ones to scout,_

 _For when the hero of Light takes flight,_

 _Darkness shall rise to its reign_

 _But the Hero of Light will be in line_

 _To take the Darkness down as it remains_

 _And the Shadow of the hero will stay until the end of time…_

The voice faded away. Sonic assumed it was done. Now, he had to determine what it meant. _Seven shall rise and seven shall fall…_ Did that mean the chaos emeralds? There were seven of them. Does this mean that they will be destroyed? Or could this mean seven people? Well let's see...who are his closest friends? (I'm not counting the Chaotix or the Babylonian Rogues or Big or Cream, or any of the ones I will not mention, they will not appear in this story) Not counting Shadow, cause he's gone, and he had no idea where he was.

"There's, hmm let's see.." he began. "Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, Silver, and Blaze, that's...six. Counting me is...oh no." Sonic realized something. Not counting Shadow, that was seven people. He began to feel fear. _Seven shall rise and seven shall fall…_ repeated in his head. Sonic did not understand the rest of the prophecy, but he could almost figure out what the first two lines meant. "There are seven of us," he stated. "And there are seven chaos emeralds. Either we will rise and the chaos emeralds will fall or the emeralds will rise and we will.." he shuttered at his last statement. Sonic did not want to think about it. But he knew something was coming, and he and his friends must prepare for it. He stood on the roof of his house that night, looking towards the star-filled sky.

"Thank you," he said, referring to the voice. "We will prepare." He was about to head in when he heard the voice for a final time. " **He will come."** Sonic looked back at the sky. Hope filled his heart. "Shadow," he said, like he was talking to the ebony hedgehog again like it was his last time. "Take care of yourself. Come back to your home someday. See ya around Shadz!" He held a thumbs up to the sky, so Shadow could see it. Then he jumped off of his roof and ran into his house.

* * *

The voice had not come back for quite some time. Shadow's soul flew the swirling energy for what seemed like an eternity. He wanted to go home. Why was he here? And why was he unable to speak to Sonic again?

Then, a bright light shone throughout the energy. Shadow was blinded for a moment. It engulfed his entire soul. Finally the light dissipated. The surrounding energy was back. He looked around and saw something. He was his hedgehog self again. However, he wasn't his ebony color. He was blue and transparent. _Oh great,_ he scoffed. _Am I turning into Sonic?_ Despite the statement, he was glad he was a hedgehog again. How long said form would last was unbeknownst to him. Though what he did realize was that he was transparent. This wasn't his body. It was still his very soul.

 _Why am I like this?_ He asked, calling out to the voice. _What is this quiz you are telling me to do?_ And, as if his question was heard, the strange voice answered him.

 _ **Your soul is an interesting one…**_ the voice replied. _**I changed you back to a hedgehog specifically for this quiz. Do not worry, you will not be graded on it. Think of it as a personality quiz. However you must answer each question with a thoughtful and honest heart. You understand this do you not?**_ Shadow nodded. _**Good. But know this: Your answers will affect your life and your destiny. Shadow, you must answer these questions truthfully. You understand this do you not? What is your choice? Do you wish to take this quiz which will alter your life and everyone else in every universe?**_ The voice finished. Shadow knew what to say. He once said that he determines his own destiny. If this quiz affects his destiny, he must answer as honest and truthful as possible. The fate of all universes rested in his hands, and he must be the one to save it.

 _Yes, I do understand,_ Shadow answered the voice. _I determine my own destiny. If this affects me, and everyone in every universe, then I accept this choice._ The voice was silent for a moment. Then it spoke. _**Your heart is truly brighter than any star that ever existed. You are the chosen one… Very well, let us begin…**_

* * *

The atmosphere of the energy swirls changed. They began to flash different colors. Shadow was amazed by this. How was this being able to do this? Well, then again, how did this being take him here? Wait a minute. Shadow began to think. He remembered that he shouldn't really have to know the voice because he was going to forget about it after their encounter. Does that mean that he'll forget everything and everyone again? Even his friends back in his world? Shadow did not want to go through that again. He kept on reliving his haunting memories and every time he got his memory back, Shadow felt more scarred for life than he did when he first lived through the events. He wanted to ask about his memory. Shadow had to in order to find out what was going on.

 _Will my memories be taken?_ He asked. Shadow waited for a response. That said response came to him.

 _ **I do not know…**_ the voice answered him.

It was odd, Shadow thought. To think that this being of pure knowledge and power did not know if he was going to lose his memory. One would think that a being of this magnitude would know everything right? Well, to be fair, Shadow didn't know who or what this being was at the present moment. One day he'll find out. Now, he had to hope that his memory wasn't being wiped.

 _ **I do not know if your memories will remain intact…**_ the voice continued. _**Nor will I know where you will end up.**_ _Great…_ Shadow thought. _**But I do know that you will get there safely… now, the quiz will start.**_

Shadow began to prepare himself. These choices will affect his life and destiny, the voice said to him. What said questions and choices he will make will be unbeknownst to him until he answers them. It is his job to answer him. He will determine his destiny.

 _ **First question,**_ the voice began. _**A nerve racking day at school! You want to make friends with someone you just met. What do you do? Turn to them and introduce yourself or wait nervously for them to talk to you?**_

Shadow thought for a second. He was the more of the silent type. But when it came to this question, he was puzzled. Shadow usually remained silent most of the time because he never wanted to show his true feelings. Well, of course this would be like a first impression type of situation, so it would be proper to introduce himself. However, he would rather present himself as the more silent type and hide his feelings.

 _Wait nervously for them to talk to you,_ Shadow answered. He was satisfied with his own answer. But he still did not know how many more questions were left.

 _ **Two of your friends are fighting, and you wished they'd stop,**_ the voice began the second question. _**What do you do first? Ponder what the real issue is between them or jump into the fray and make them stop?**_

He began to think back to a time when Sonic and Knuckles were fighting. He didn't remember what they were fighting about, but he remembered it was something stupid. Of course, knowing them, they got into a fight of the fists. No one else was doing anything about the situation. At first he didn't care, but the fighting went on for almost a half an hour. He had to intervene by then. Shadow remembered initiating a chaos blast. The entire area was blown away. Sonic and Knuckles were charred, and their fur was almost as black as his fur. He wanted to laugh so badly, but he kept his feelings shut out. Standing and watch them argue was interesting, but getting involved was what made his blood run wild. However, most of the time, he didn't care. Also most of the time getting involved was a bad idea.

 _Ponder what the real issue is between them,_ Shadow answered.

Then the third question began. _**Everyone at your school is talking about this great new book, but it's big and long...Of course you'll get it! They say it's great! Or...You don't want to read anything that long.**_

 _If they say it's good, then I'll read it,_ Shadow answered. That one was easy. Yes, he does enjoy reading books over anything else. Shadow had found the joy of reading to be interesting.

 _ **You've been hiking up a mountain for two hours but still haven't reached the peak… You pump yourself up for one last push! Or...You give up on it and go home.**_

 _Pump myself up for one last push,_ Shadow replied. Whenever he had gone out to do something, he always finished it. Whether it was a mission or something he started, Shadow always finished the conflict that was started.

 _ **You want to jump rope in your class, but everyone else wants to play tag...You give in and play tag with your friends or you convince all your friends to jump rope?**_

 _Convince all my friends to jump rope,_ Shadow answered. He was not the type of person to be convinced easily. Even when he wanted to go into Eggman's base alone and Rouge wanted to get the others, he would not agree with her.

 _ **Good,**_ the voice replied to his answer, who seemed satisfied. _**Now you have more of a choice question. A wizard appears before you! He says he'll transform you into anything! What would you want to be? A cute little critter, loved by all? A cold blooded reptile with strength? A freewheeling bird with wings across the sky? Or a wild beast this is one with nature?**_

Shadow thought about this. He knew that the first choice was out. Being a cute critter was not his type of style. The reptile option was out as well, because he would rather stay warm blooded. Now what was left was the bird and the beast. The bird would be cool, considering he would be able to fly. The other option, the beast, was also intriguing. Though when he thought about it, he would rather go with the beast over the bird. His main reason was because of the bird's appearance. The feathers and the beak weren't really his style. Shadow wanted to be beast, maybe like a wolf or a lion would suit him. Well, then again, this is a question on the quiz, so he wouldn't know if this was going to happen or not.

 _A wild beast that is one with nature,_ Shadow answered confidently. _**Excellent Shadow,**_ the voice said. _**You made a very good choice. Now for another choice question.**_

 _ **All right! Vacation time at last! What kind of music fits your mood? Feelin' cool, so it's time for some jazz? I want to dance and sing to some pop music? Getting excited, time for some samba? Or I'll rock out to some hard rock?**_

 _I'll rock out to some hard rock, all the way,_ Shadow said. He was definitely a big fan of rock. The other types of music didn't really appeal to him, but rock was his favorite type of music.

 _ **The last question is simple,**_ the voice continued. _**How would you describe your partner? Cool or Cute?**_

What did the voice mean by partner though? Did it mean by like work partner, as in Rouge? When the voice said cool or cute he was thinking is your partner male or female. So in his mind it would make sense to say that the partner he works with. As least that's how he thought what the voice had said to him.

 _ **Cute,**_ he answered. _**Hmm interesting,**_ the voice said. _**You love tackling new challenges with you calm, cool, collected reasoning.**_ Well that part did fit him. He liked taking on challenges. _**You're so smart, you know the answers before you've even heard the question.**_ That came true in some situations. Shadow always knew what to say in conversations and what could turn a fight in his favor. _**You have a calm, reliable personality. Thank you Shadow. Now, we are nearing our destination…**_

 _We are?_ Shadow asked. That went fast. Well not really. He thought it went fast because of the time that was spent while taking the quiz. Speaking of said quiz, it wasn't that bad. Shadow thought it would be much worse. He meant in which it was so hard to make choices.

Then again, they were nearing their destination. That meant he wouldn't see the voice for any longer. _So does that mean I won't see you again?_ Shadow asked.

 _ **We will meet each other in person one day Shadow,**_ the voice said. _**Now before I send you there, I want you to do something for me. A sphere will appear in front of you. It will scan your aura.**_

 _My aura?_ Shadow asked. What did the voice mean by aura? _What is aura?_ _ **Aura is the very life force that is found in every being. In your universe, it is called chaos. The sphere will scan your life force to see if you are willing to do this and if your life force is strong enough.**_

A sphere of light appeared in front of Shadow. He hesitated for a moment, but he reached out to it. Shadow let his hand rest on the sphere of energy. It didn't feel like anything, but at the same time, it felt like something.

 _ **Yes, yes,**_ the voice said calmly. _**Just a little bit longer.**_ Shadow let his hand rest on the sphere for about a minute. He didn't feel like he was being scanned. Oh well I guess that's how it goes.

 _ **You may rest your hand now,**_ the voice commanded. Shadow lifted his hand from the sphere. The sphere in front of him disappeared. A outline of a small bow tie appeared in its place. _**Your aura is…**_ As the voice spoke, the outline of the bow started to change into many different colors. It flashed red, green, blue, yellow, silver, violet, and light blue. They were the colors of the chaos emeralds, Shadow realized. It kept flashing those colors for a few more seconds until it stayed one particular color. Red. _**A fiery red,**_ the voice finished.

In Shadow's mind, this made sense. For some reason, out of all the chaos emeralds, he felt connected somehow to the red chaos emerald. It was always the first one he would find, and he would always draw out the most power from it. The phenomenon was strange. Did this happen to Sonic or Silver at all? Probably not because they weren't connected to the chaos force like he was.

 _ **Your passion and determination is unbelievable,**_ the voice said as a compliment. _**You will never give up, even if the situation seems one sided. I am very honored to have met you…**_ This, even for Shadow, was weird. The voice was honored to have met him? Everyone hated Shadow. He tried to destroy the planet, helped the doctor for a bit, and even sides with the Black Arms for a short time, who was his biological family. How could the voice, this being, be honored to have met him after all of the terrible things he has done in the past?

 _ **I know what you are thinking,**_ the voice answered him with reassurance. _**Do not fear. I do not think of your actions. I think of your heart. You, Shadow, are a very honorable being, even if you do not realize it. You have done good in the world. I want you to do one last thing for me before you depart for the journey of your life. Please take the bow in front of you as a sign of our meeting. Then you will leave.**_

Shadow was surprised. The voice was going to leave him, for now. He'll see it again one day, in person. The journey of his life and destiny was about to begin. He was ready.

Shadow reached out and grabbed the bow. He took it in his left hand, and put it on above his chest fur. It was a perfect fit. _I will meet you again someday,_ Shadow said. _I am ready…_ _ **Farewell Shadow the Hedgehog…**_ the voice said for one final time. _**We will meet again someday…**_

The bow around his neck began to glow. His own soul began to glow. The light poured from him and filled the entire energy filled area. Though something strange went through him. Shadow felt like he was _changing._ He didn't know how, but his physical appearance was changing. Shadow couldn't see because of the light. Then he began to feel great pain engulf his head. _AHHHHHHHHHH!_ Shadow cried in agony. At first, he didn't know what has happening. Though, he had felt his pain before and he knew now what was going to become of him. _He was getting amnesia again._

* * *

A tall, white, four legged creature with a gold ring around its waist was standing outside the Hall of Origin. He was very deep in thought. That is, until a certain blue-steel dragon interrupted his contemplation.

"Arceus," he said, as he approached the being from behind. "I have spoken with Sonic. I assure you, the only thing that I have told him that was important was the prophecy." _**Good work Dialga,**_ Arceus replied. _**You will get your reward.**_ "How did things go with Shadow?" the ruler of time asked. _**Very well,**_ Arceus answered. _**He is an honorable being. The personality quiz I gave him helped me determine who is he. I am certainly grateful Palkia made that decision long ago.**_ "So what has become of him?" Dialga said. _**That I do not know,**_ Arceus said answering Dialga's question. _**I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to space. However Palkia is in no state now to handle it, especially after the encounter with Giratina. But I do know this: After the personality quiz, I scanned his aura. I was surprised by the results. Shadow's aura is red.**_ "Red!" Dialga yelled in shock. He had all rights to be shocked. "But all of the beings that we have sent here have never had red aura!" _**That is why Shadow is so special,**_ Arceus stayed. _**His passion and determination goes with no bounds. He has incredible capabilities and a sense of knowledge. But his heart, it was pure. It was one that loved right and despised wrong. Shadow can accomplish anything if he put his mind to it.**_ "After you scanned his aura," Dialga began. "You gave him the bow yes?" _**Indeed,**_ Arceus replied. _**Only this time, I will know who he is if I ever find him…**_

After this answer, Dialga departed from him. Arceus was left alone to ponder the universe's problems. He began to wonder about the being that he had met. It had seemed like an eternity since then. _**We will meet again Shadow,**_ Arceus said, reciting those words. _**Someday…**_

* * *

 **Author's Endnote**

 **Whew! End of the chapter! Holy Arceus there's a heck of a ton of stuff to explain! So let's do this shall we? Trivia time!**

 **First off, allusions. Ah yes allusions. I just love referring to other stories/plays, they make it interesting. Been learning about these things in literature class recently. Might as well use them right? Well let's see what we got. We have some Hamlet, some other references to past Sonic games, even a fanfic thrown in too cause why not? The** " _Was he among them?"_ **line? Yeah that's from a fanfic I liked called** _Howls From the Past._ **Highly you suggest you go read it. It's under my favs. The guy who wrote it is a genius!**

 **Second, we have the personality quiz. When it comes to the quiz, it can vary upon game, cause of the different Pokémon that are available. So with this, I decided to go with the most recent version of the quiz, via Super Mystery Dungeon (love that game, highly suggest you go check it out, even though it's 3 years old by this point) I went with this version because of the starter choices and the fact that it is most recent (also literally it is the shortest quiz that is in the series, and I didn't feel like going on for 5 pages about a quiz so yeah) I tried to base the answers off of Shadow's personality to the best of my ability. True, it would make more sense if Shadow was more of the Treecko base type, in which he was the loner, but the answers that applied to get there didn't appeal to Shadow's style that much as the choices he made in this version. Also another thing, about the scanning of aura. That was from Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky. Throughout the Mystery Dungeon Series, the protagonist usually wears some sort of special attire. Fore example (spoilers, well not really) In Super Mystery Dungeon, the player wears a special scarf and in Explorers, you wear a bow. I'd thought it would be cool if I had Shadow's character wear a bow. I also made it a sign of the act between Arceus and Shadow that Arceus will recognize Shadow even if his memory is lost.**

 **Last thing. Arceus. Oh my Arceus. He is the voice. Well at least the voice to Shadow. There are multiple voices. For example, Dialga talked to Sonic. I used regular bold for his speech instead of bold and italics. Also, when Dialga spoke with Arceus, he used his normal voice. Whenever Pokemon talk in bold text, they are using telepathy, except for the end note, I am using my voice rest assured. Arceus was busy talking with Shadow, so he employed the ruler of time. I chose Arceus as the voice because he is literally the god of pokemon. He is the one who brought Shadow here, but no one else knows about it besides Dialga. Also, when Arceus said he didn't know what would happen to Shadow, he really didn't. He may be the Alpha pokemon, but he barely has knowledge of space. That's why he created Dialga and Palkia, so they would have knowledge and Arceus wouldn't be so stressed. So he definitely won't know what will happen to Shadow. Speaking of Palkia, why did he get in a fight with Giratina? Oooo.**

 **Oh wait, I have one more.** _ **The Prophecy.**_ **Oooo. Yes, it's about the prophecy. When writing this chapter, I wanted some sort of prophecy to be in it. Kind of like a prophecy from the** _Warriors_ **Series if you will (So many allusions XD) Though, I found it to be the hardest part to write. It's mostly because I wanted it to rhyme. I mean, I came up with the first four lines in a heartbeat. The rest? Eh not so much. Oh by the way, the stand tall line is in reference to the 19th Pokemon Anime opening song** _Stand Tall._ **Indeed, Sonic will have to figure this out eventually. When will he? Who knows? I don't even know, I haven't gotten that far yet! I have to admit I'm not much of a poet, but sometimes, I don't even know it XD**

 **Next time, we'll finally get to see Shadow in his pokemon form. Yee! I'm so excited. I'm pretty sure that you guys can figure it out based on the questions and answers. Now for his partner. I might change the base of the partner pokemon (spoiler alert, the base is pikachu) Basically in my opinion, I want the partner to be something else. I'm not saying that the base of the partner will fit Shadow, but I'm saying that something else would work better. Basically I had Shadow answer to hard rock, because, well, he likes hard rock. So yeah, I think I will change the partner. Let me know what you guys think.**

 **So, I'm going to leave you guys off with that. Let me know what I should fix or change, or if there is something you like. Please let me know! It makes me very happy! Anyways, until next time, see ya Universe!**

 **P.S. This chapter is 15 pages long. Holy Arceus.**

 **Palkia**


	3. Ch2 A New World, A New You

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! Palkia's back with Chapter 2! Yee! Finally we enter the Pokemon World with Shadow. He'll go through some new experiences, all with no memory! Well, I can't say anything else cause I haven't gotten that far yet, so we'll see how it goes XD Anyways, thanks for everyone again who reviewed and favorited my story. It means a lot! Let's start the chapter!**

 **Also I do not own Pokemon or Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 2**

 **A New World and a New You**

It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. On days like these, kids like you...cough cough wrong storyline. But it certainly was a beautiful day outside. The forest was quiet during this time of day. Not a single voice was heard. All you could hear was the distant noise of a waterfall. It was summertime in the forest and all the leaves were green. The wind softly blew through the trees. Nothing could possibly disturb the serene peace and tranquility that this forest held at that moment.

Until something was falling from the sky.

At that time, no one knew what was falling. Was it a meteor from space? Was it a bird? Not a single being knew. Well, not many were around to witness it, but many could see the bright light that was coming towards the planet. Then, with a crash, the thing from above struck the planet.

BOOM!

The planet shook from the impact. Soundwaves swept across the forest, forcing their way for everyone to hear. A bright light engulfed the blast area. The closest beings to the blast were about 10 miles away, but they could still could see it. Nearby trees caught on fire. The forest itself seemed to have trembled with fear when that thing came to the planet. At last there was silence. The trees stopped quivering. All was at peace for a moment. Everything was in natural order.

Except for the crash site. The entire area was charred. However the thing that caused the destruction was perfectly fine. It was a living thing. A young living thing. There it lay on the ground. It was unconscious for a time. Then it slowly began to wake up.

* * *

Shadow didn't know what was happening to him. He felt a great pain go through his body. What was happening to him? Shadow had this weird sense in his body. It was like he was falling. _Was he falling?_ It was certainly a possibly. He began to lose his sense of feeling as his entire body began to near the surface. Shadow's vision began to fade from him. Then it happened.

BOOM!

He felt pain surge through his entire body. Yep, he had fell from the sky. _But why?_ Shadow pondered this. All feeling left him as his body was numb from the crash. He himself thought he was dead. _Am I dead?_ He thought. It was a possibility. Shadow has never survived a fall like that before. Had he? _Wait..._ his mind thought. Then, as if a miracle happened, his strength returned. Shadow was able to feel the pain in his body again. Yes, it was bad he felt pain, but at least he knew he was alive.

He slowly opening his eyes. Pain surged through him, as even opening his eyes was a challenge. Eventually he got them to stay open. It was like trying to take a cover off your own bed but it kept jumping back to the same position. Though they did finally stay open. Shadow looked around with his eyes. Trying to move his head brought him a ton of discomfort. Surely something in his body was broken? He would have to find out later. What he saw in front of him now was dirt. Charred dirt. This was probably because of the crash. _Well,_ he thought. _I can't stay here. I have to move. This is going to be painful…_

Gently, he tried to move his left arm so he could get up. His muscles and bones were engulfed in pain. Shadow's own body seemed to scream in agony. But he had to ignore it and get up. If he didn't, he would never find out where he was. Shadow managed to get his left arm moving. Now for the right one. That, as with the left arm, was engulfed in pain. But for some odd reason, all the pain he had felt a few seconds ago was gone. No more pounding headache. No more muscles and bones aching. No body screaming in pain. _What is this?_ He thought. _How is this possible?_ Just a few seconds ago he was on the verge of death and now he's full of life? He was amazed by this.

Shadow was able to get both arms up and moving. He pushed himself up, then he allowed himself to get on his knees. Last his legs pushed his body into a standing position. He stumbled for a bit, trying to find his balance. It was as if he wasn't used to standing up before. Not with bare feet anyway.

 _Wait. Bare feet? Didn't I have shoes on before? Hold on. Why did I have shoes?_

He began to look at his surroundings. Shadow was in a crater, which was caused by _his impact_. He still wondered what caused him to fall from the sky. As he walked out of the crater, he noticed all the trees that were around him. He was in the middle of a forest. But that wasn't the odd thing he noticed. Everything was significantly _larger than him._ What had happened to him? Did he shrink? Shadow had no clue. He left the crater behind him and decided to explore this large world.

Some time past, and Shadow heard a waterfall roaring in the distance. Shadow noted that he was a bit thirsty. So he decided to get a drink. He walked over to the stream the waterfall had flowed into at the moment. Shadow kneeled down and dipped his head into the water. **Gulp Gulp Gulp. Pant pant. Pant pant.** All he could hear at that time was the sound of water trickling down this throat and his own breathing. Shadow had his eyes closed so water wouldn't go into his eyes and cause him more pain. If anything that was the last thing he wanted.

After about five more gulps of water and steady breathing in and out, Shadow finally felt himself relax. He felt more alive. It was strange. Never before had he felt this weird feeling. It was almost as if he... _wasn't in his right body._ The thought came to him. Everything was bigger than him. His feet were bare. No. That was impossible. Then he opened his eyes. Shadow then jumped up in shock. Right in the water was his reflection. He was right. His body was different. He himself was different. Shadow looked back at his reflection still with shock on his face. He stared into the reflection that was his own.

 _That is not me..._ his mind screamed. _That is not me...that is not me… that is...not...me…_ "That is me," he said. Shadow then covered his mouth in shock. His voice was significantly higher than it normally was. Usually his voice was very deep. Was it not? "Is that me?" he questioned, finally releasing his grip on his mouth. "How...did this...happen? Why did this happen? I can't...I can't...remember!"

It was true. Shadow couldn't remember anything. Nothing came into his mind. The only thing that he could remember was his name. "I am...I am...Shadow," he said in shock. "Shadow...Shadow...Who am I?" Shadow couldn't remember who he was. All he knew was his name. He looked back down into the water to get a good look of his reflection.

His eyes gazed into the water. Then he saw himself again. Shadow had ruby eyes. He thought those looked familiar. But everything else was a huge mess. He was smaller than he thought he used to be. Around his eyes was black fur. This fur made him look like he had a mask on. Surrounding the black mask of fur was shiny, golden fur. On his head were two pointy ears. Jetting out from his black furry mask were two black appendages. Shadow then glanced at his neck. There was a blue collar around it. There was also a red bow around his neck. His hands had become paws with three fingers instead of five. He then noticed there were white bumps at the end of his arms. Shadow's arms were also a golden color. He had black markings on his chest and below them was more golden fur. His legs were jet black as well. Last he turned around and looked behind him. There was a long golden tail. What the heck had happened to him? Although, another thing he noticed was that in some areas, his fur was a bit burned or singed, possibly from the crash.

After looking at himself again, Shadow began to scream and run around. He was still in shock after what happened, and his lack of memory didn't help the situation either. Shadow was somewhere else, in a different form, and no memory of who he was, where he was, how he got there, and how he could change back.

Shadow finally calmed down after exhaustion overtook him. He collapsed to the ground on his knees, breathing heavily. Shadow stared at the ground, now trying to collect himself. He knew that he couldn't do anything about it if he kept on going like this. Shadow was here, and Shadow has to do something in order to go back to his usual self, which was...well he didn't know, so he would need his memory back too. For one thing though, at least he knew his name, that was a start. Knowing your name means someone's bound to know you, right? Even though he may be different now, Shadow had to stay determined in order to find out who he is.

"I can't stand around here doing nothing," Shadow said to himself. "If I'm going to find out where or what or who I am, then I have to get moving." He got up from his position on the ground and started stretching his body. First he stretched his arms, and then his legs. Shadow felt better after doing these stretches. It relaxed his muscles and relieved some of the tension built up inside of him from the crash. He was getting used to his new form. In a way, he sorta liked it. This new form felt like his usual one. Well then again, he didn't know what his usual form looked like, so he couldn't really base anything off of that. Though, he sensed that he felt like himself.

But there was still one thing that was strange. _The Red Bow._ The very thing that was around his neck ever since he fell from the sky. It seemed, unnatural, in his aspect. Shadow felt like he never owned this thing before. Yet, he could feel a strange power emanating from it. It resonated with his very soul. Though, where did it come from? Did Shadow really have it all of his life? Or did it come from somewhere else? Shadow will have to find out some time in the future.

Shadow began to walk away from the waterfall. Another question popped into his mind. _Where do I go from here?_ He thought. Shadow didn't have anywhere to go. This world was different and he didn't know where to go for help in the first place. He probably didn't know anyone, and no one will recognize him anyway, thanks to the sudden transformation. Shadow felt ashamed of himself. He reflected back on his previous actions, on how he reacted to his form. "I acted like a kid," he stated sadly. "A little kid with a lost mind. Maybe that's all I am. A young kid with no place to go and nothing to follow."

Shortly after his saddened statements were said, he heard a cry from the distance. "Help!" it cried out, trying to reach the furthest of places. " **Heelllllpppp!"** The noise was getting louder. " **HHHHEEEEELLLLPPPPP!"** the distressed voice called out in agony. At first Shadow wanted to ignore it, thinking it was only his imagination, but for some reason a voice began whispering in his head. _Help them,_ It said. _Help them, give them a chance, to be happy._ Shadow couldn't take anymore of this. He had to do something. Child or not, there was no way he could keep the plea unanswered. Shadow raced off towards the direction of the voice.

He didn't know where the voice was coming from though. It could be a few distances away or it could have been miles. Maybe he had very good hearing and picked up on the noise. Perhaps this form came with positives. Shadow felt himself getting faster and faster. Surges of energy were rushing through his entire body. This feeling he felt... it felt ...good. As he got faster, Shadow jumped up towards the trees. He was jumping off of them like it was nothing. The world was blurring around him, in a good way. Shadow didn't know how fast he was going, but he presumed it was faster than anything could go before. Then, as if he had guessed right, a loud boom was heard. Shadow had broken the sound barrier. He couldn't believe it. How could he have broken the sound barrier? How did he go so fast. _Maybe there's more to me than I thought,_ Shadow thought to himself. _Now I have to find whoever was calling for help._

" **HELP!"** the voice cried out. Shadow slowed down to a halt. However when he tried to stop, he ended up stumbling and falling to the ground. He face planted into the ground. "Ow," he said, wincing in pain. Shadow began to move his arms and push himself up to a standing position. Then suddenly, a pair of ribbon-like appendages touched the sides of his body. They lifted him off the ground and put him into the standing position that he wanted to go in at that moment. The ribbons left his sides as he stood up. Shadow wondered where the ribbons came from. Then he looked up to see the owner of the ribbons. His bright ruby eyes met light blue sparkling eyes.

"Are you ok?" she asked in a soft voice. But Shadow knew it wasn't the same voice.

* * *

 _ **Flashback**_

Today had been a tough day for Sylveon. Her sister, Eevee, had gone missing that day. She remembered talking to Tyrantrum, the elder of the Emerald Village, on how Eevee didn't come home that night. Sylveon had tears in her eyes and Tyrantrum tried to comfort her to the best of his ability.

"Tell me," he began to say. "When was the last time you saw her?" He needed to know. It could possibly narrow down the options to where Eevee was at that moment.

"I think she went out to Mist Forest to find some Oran Berries," Sylveon stated. "Our brother Vaporeon is sick. We didn't know why he was sick. I thought I sent Eevee to bed. But she must have heard Umbreon talking about the Oran Berries in the Mist Forest. I said to Umbreon that it's dangerous to go there because of the recent Pokemon activity there. The next day, I went out for some business and when I came home, Eevee was gone. I thought she went out to play with her friends, but she didn't come that night." At that moment she burst into tears, thinking about how her sister may have been hurt. "Oh Tyrantrum!" Sylveon cried out between the tears. "Please! We must find her! Leafeon will never forgive me!"

"We'll send out a search party at once," Tyrantrum reassured her. "We'll find Eevee, I promise." though, he knew he couldn't exactly keep that promise. What if they didn't find the lost Pokemon? Sylveon would never be happy with herself again. Though Tyrantrum knew that they couldn't give up hope yet. They had to find Eevee.

"Oh thank you Tyrantrum!" Sylveon exclaimed. "I'll get all my brothers and sisters!"

* * *

The search party was organized later on that day in the center of the village. Some Pokemon were sent to the south of the village, some went west, others went east, and some went to the region where the Mist Forest is located. Sylveon went to the north with some of her siblings, such as Umbreon and Flareon. Then they decided to split up and search the area.

It had been a half an hour since Sylveon left her brothers. She still hadn't found Eevee. Now Sylveon was beginning to doubt that she would ever see her little sister again. "Eevee!" she yelled out in desperation. There was no response. She continued to call her name, but there was still no answer. "Oh Eevee, where are you?" Sylveon said.

Then, she got a strange answer that Sylveon didn't expect. Out of nowhere, something was falling from the sky. It was roaring for the sake of its life it seemed. The first thing she wanted to do was duck and cover, hoping whatever that thing was would not hit her. Truth be told, Sylveon didn't, but instead stared in awe of this great light. The second thing that came into her mind was where it was headed. Then she saw its course: the other side of Ruby Mountain, which was quite a huge, long distance from the village and the Mist Forest, approximately 10 miles west away from where she stood. However, because she was in an area with barely any trees, and not to mention that Ruby Mountain is the highest point in the Gem Continent, she was able to see where it was heading at that moment.

The thing flew to the other side of Ruby Mountain. Sylveon could no longer see it. But in a moment, she heard its impact. BOOM! The planet shook. Soundwaves echoed across the area. Trees swayed in the wind. Sylveon tried her best to keep her balance, but it was no use. She fell to the ground, using her paws to cover her head from any certain damage that would come her way.

Then, as if time had skidded to a halt, everything stopped. The ground stopped shaking. The wind stopped blowing. The trees stopped swaying. Everything around her was in a standstill. It was awe striking, to say the least. Sylveon got up from where she stood. "What was that thing?" she asked herself. Two thoughts were running through her right at that moment. Her mind was curious. She wanted to find out what that mysterious light was that just arrived in this world. Then there was her heart. Sylveon had to keep searching for Eevee. Her life depended on it. As much as science was amazing and all, her little sister came first. _But what if she was at the crash site?_ Her mind wondered. _What if something happened to her?_ Sylveon still was contemplating these thoughts. _Maybe if I saw it, then she could have seen it too,_ Sylveon thought. _Eevee probably would want to find out. She would go there, so maybe I would find her!_ Sylveon had decided. Her sister would want to investigate this, so she would find Eevee there as well.

Sylveon began to run in the direction of the object. She would find Eevee, but there was also the matter of that _thing._ Is it alive? Is it something that fell from space? Sylveon would have to find out. Secretly, she hoped that it wasn't a living thing. If it was from another world, it could bring harm to her and the rest of the pokemon, even Eevee. She would not let that happen. Sylveon quickened her pace. Then after a while she became tired. She decided to rest for a bit. As the pokemon sat down to get her energy back, Sylveon heard something _loud._ Extremely loud. She then rushed to cover her ears. _What is that?_ She wondered. Then Sylveon knew exactly what that sound was.

 _A Sonic Boom._

That's impossible. No pokemon that she knew could go faster than the speed of sound. Sure, some of the legendaries could maybe get to near the speed of sound, but not enough to break it. Not even Deoxys in speedform could break it. Mega Rayquaza? Definitely not. Mega Mewtwo Y? Ok Mewtwo could break it, but still. He would never go into his mega form unless the world was at risk. Heck, he barely bothers with anything, him being created in all. Perhaps Mewtwo was investigating the thing that fell from the sky.

But what if it wasn't Mewtwo? What if it was something that was causing these disasters lately? Sylveon began to grow fearful. What if her sister was there? Eevee could be in danger.

Then, she saw something in the distance. Clouds of dust. Where did they come from. Sylveon gasped. The pink and white pokemon then saw something else. She couldn't make out exactly what it was, but there was _something_ making those dust clouds. It was making a trail of them. Running at high speeds. That was definitely not Mewtwo. If it was, it wouldn't have created the dust cloud trail behind it. Was that the thing that created the Sonic Boom? It might be. Though, it made a right turn…. _And headed straight for her._

Sylveon grew scared. She feared for her life. Even if she tried to run, there was no way she would outrun it. The being was going over the speed of sound, something that rivaled the speed of the strongest legendary pokemon. Sylveon would have to face it. She stood her ground, and got into a fighting stance. The ribbon pokemon braced herself for an impact that would probably end her life. The roar of the running being grew closer and closer to her. This was it. It was her life or her death right here right now. She closed her eyes and waited for the impending doom.

But it never came.

The sound of dirt being dug up was heard, as well as a loud screech, as if the thing was trying to stop. Then Sylveon knew the being wasn't trying to hurt her if it was trying to stop. She opened her eyes, only to welcomed to the sound of thudding and tripping and the sight of a small body falling to the ground. Dust flew around her and the small body and buffed her in great pain. Then everything stopped. The dust cleared and dissipated. Sylveon was able to get a better look of the culprit who broke the sound barrier. She gasped in shock.

It was a Riolu. A golden Riolu. _A shiny,_ she thought. Shiny pokemon were extremely rare in the world. They were normal pokemon, but their coloration was different. For example, a normal Riolu would have a blue coloring and a yellow ring around their neck. This one, however, had golden coloring and a blue ring around its neck. Not to mention a bright red bow. _Interesting,_ she thought. _I wonder where this one got that._

There was also another factor: its speed. How could one young Riolu break the sound barrier so easily? Sure Riolu and its evolution Lucario could run fast, but probably it's fastest speed was at least 40 mph. That is nowhere near breaking the sound barrier.

Another thing she noticed was the condition of the young Riolu. Its fur was charred. Charred? How? There was no forest fire near here. Also with its speed, it could've escaped the fire with ease. So how did it get those burns? She would have to ask it when it got up.

The Riolu began to stir. It tried to get up using its arms. _I'll help it up,_ Sylveon said. She used her ribbons to wrap around the small body of the Riolu. It gasped in surprise as she lifted off the ground to its feet. Her baby blue eyes met sparkling ruby eyes as she set the Riolu down.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

 _ **End of Flashback**_

* * *

Shadow looked at her with surprise in his eyes. Two things were running through his mind: One, where was the being who was crying for help, and two, who is she? Who is this being that helped him up. He began to think for a moment. Her voice did not match up to the one who was crying out. The one Shadow heard was that of a young child, maybe about his age. Well, to be honest, he didn't know if he is a kid or not, or how old he was, but judging by his appearance, Shadow was a young, uh, whatever he was at the moment. And he hated thinking he was a young child for some odd reason even he didn't know about.

Back to his point, this voice, to that in which the owner of it was standing right in front of him, seemed a bit older, more mature. _Just he should be,_ Shadow thought for a second for some odd reason. However, there was the fact that both voices he heard did sound similar in a way. _Perhaps they were related?_

"Excuse me?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. "Are you alright?" She asked. Shadow broke out of a daze and looked back at her. "I...uh…" Then he shook his head. "I guess not," he answered. "How were you able to run that fast?" she asked. "I've never seen or heard of anyone who's broke the sound barrier before." "I...I...don't know," he stated plainly. It was true, he didn't know how he was able to run at such high speeds like that. Shadow just acted on instinct that's all he knew.

Sylveon was surprised by this statement. How come someone who could run that fast, heck not even getting their feet rubbed off to oblivion, checking on how his feet were totally fine, not know how to perform it again? Running was simple to do. There wasn't anyway this young Riolu couldn't know how to go that fast again.

"How do you not know?" she asked. "Running is simple. It's natural. You must be able to do it again. And how come you're not alright?" Shadow pondered this for a bit. Then he spoke. "Again I don't know," Shadow replied sadly. "I was just running and I heard this voice calling for help and…"

"Wait!" she interrupted. "Did you say someone calling for help?" Shadow nodded his head to her question. "What did this voice sound like?" she asked. "It was similar to your voice, in fact," Shadow answered. "But different. It was higher. All I could remember is hearing 'Help!' like three times, and every time it would get louder." "Oh thank Arceus!" she replied full of joy, but at the same time, full of worry. Her sister is alive, but from the way the Riolu described it, Eevee was in danger.

Shadow looked at her in surprise. Sylveon took notice of the Riolu's questionable look. "Oh I'm sorry!" she apologized. "I know that voice you are describing. It belongs to my sister, Eevee." "Eevee?" Shadow questioned. That, in his opinion, was a weird name. But, then again, he was somewhere else, so he had to accept the naming system here. "Yes," she said. "Eevee is my younger sister. My name is Sylveon. Eevee went missing last night and everyone in the Emerald Village has been searching for her. We thought she went into the Mist Forest to get some berries for my sick brother, Vaporeon, so we've been searching for quite some time. While I was searching, this bright, fiery object fell from the sky on the other side of Ruby Mountain. The ground shook and trembled. After that, it stopped. I thought my sister would want to check it out, so I went towards that area. Then you showed up out of nowhere going faster than the speed of sound, and here I am."

Shadow was puzzled. "Emerald Village? Mist Forest? Ruby Mountain?" he questioned. "I don't understand." All of these places that Sylveon mentioned, Shadow had no clue where they were and what they looked like. "Are you not from the Gem Continent?" she asked. Shadow, again, was confused. "Gem Continent?" he asked. Now Sylveon was puzzled. How did this Riolu not know what the Gem Continent was? It's where they are right now. "Where are you from?" she then asked.

He didn't know the answer to this. All he knew was that he fell from the sky and was from a different world. Said world he had no information on at the time. For one thing, Sylveon had seen something falling from the sky. And that something was _him._ Then there must be others who had seen him fall from the sky. Someone would have to find out eventually. Shadow couldn't walk around a new world with no memory with no knowledge of the place or the people. Perhaps Sylveon could help him out. She seemed caring, and since that she has a younger sister named Eevee, Sylveon looked worried. He would have to put his trust in someone eventually. She was the first person he'd met in this world. Then he decided that he was going to tell her. _Here we go,_ Shadow thought. _Tell her the truth, even though she might not believe it…_

Sylveon looked back at the Riolu. He was clearly deep in thought. _Perhaps he didn't have a home,_ she thought to herself. _Maybe he lived in a mystery dungeon and one day made it out. Perhaps he didn't have parents so that's why he didn't have any knowledge about the places I've mentioned or the fact that we are on the Gem Continent. I might as well ask him. Also I want to know where he got those charred fur marks on him and how he could run so fast and how he got that bow._ Sylveon was about to ask him something when he finally spoke.

"I fell from the sky."

* * *

 **Author's Endnote**

 **That's all for now! Woo! Now for some explaining to do.**

 **Shadow is a Riolu. Surprise! Although not really cause people probably figured it out cause of the Super Mystery Dungeon quiz answers. And also, he's a Shiny Riolu! Surprise surprise! XD Yeah I know, you can't have your player be a shiny pokemon but I thought it would be interesting to see a shiny pokemon. Another thing is that his "shininess" will come into play throughout the story. Oh the irony. Shadow being a black hedgehog with a name that suits him is now a bright shiny Riolu with the same name that doesn't suit him. Ooo this is going to be fun.**

 **One thing I want to note is the places that I have created. The Emerald Village, the Mist Forest, and Ruby Mountain. Last time I checked, there was no Ruby Mountain or Emerald Village in Pokemon, in ANY of the core series or the side games. For Mist Forest, I made that up as well. I was originally gonna go with Oran Forest, but I realized that existed in Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky, so I decided to go with Mist Forest instead. Arceus there are a lot of forests in the Mystery Dungeon Series. Also the Gem Continent is made up as well. The other continents in the Super Mystery Dungeon are Water, Air, Grass, Mist, and Sand, and the rest are smaller islands. I wanted to make a new continent just to say that this story doesn't take place on any of those specific continents. Another thing is that the Gem Continent is mostly cut off from the rest of the world, even the Lapras Liner doesn't do trips to there. So most of the places, like the Emerald Village, will mostly be based with their traditions since they are cut off. Though keep in mind that later on there will be a way to travel to the other parts of the world, but it won't be the Lapras Liner.**

 **I mostly took these places from my original Mystery Dungeon fanfic which I wrote a while ago. Also I took some characters from it as well, for example, Tyrantrum being the Village Elder, and Vaporeon. Though keep in mind that the original one I wrote was NOWHERE near as detailed at that one, so think of this one as a combination of the two. I don't intend on posting that one anyway, A. It's super short, B. Not as detailed, C. It's not complete, and D. It's basically Shadow as the main protagonist as well.**

 **Since Vaporeon was in my original fanfic, I decided to add his brothers and sisters as well. Enter the Eeveelution siblings! Now for those of you who desperately want to know who Shadow's partner is going to be, IT'S NOT EEVEE! I repeat, IT'S NOT EEVEE! Just think of Eevee as being a friend to Shadow and not the actual partner. The partner will be shown later on in the story. Another thing is that think of Sylveon as a mentor to Shadow. Eventually she will help Shadow learn about the World of Pokemon and help him meet other Pokemon.**

 **Last but not least, tell me what you think so far! If there is something I need to fix or something I need to change let me know. And thank you to those who have followed, favored, and reviewed my fanfic! It means a lot to me!**

 **Oh I just realized that Sylveon has blue eyes and so does Maria...OOOOO, naw I don't think I'll put Maria as Sylveon.**

 **Until next time, See ya Universe!**

 **Palkia**


	4. CH3 Welcoming the Light, Giving to Lost

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! Palkia's back! Time to get into Chapter 3! Yee! But first…**

 **Tejerina: THIS! OH MY ARCEUS! THIS! XD I didn't think of this. When I was first writing Chapter 2, I was trying to think of a way on how Shadow ends up there. I kinda wanted to be a bit original, in which the player doesn't randomly end up on the ground via magic or on the beach or appearing via Magnagate and then falling from the sky in the most elegant manner (seriously the only one who saw the player first is the partner, heck they didn't see you fall, they just randomly come across you) Anyway, I kinda wanted to be more extravagant and have it be a ball of light and fire hurtling towards the ground like, well, something falling from space. I had totally forgot the events after SA2, and when I read this, I completely remembered it and then I'm like, "Holy Arceus I did not realize this," and was laughing so hard. Well, now that I think about it, I did put a part in which Shadow couldn't remember falling from the sky, but I completely forgot that basically the same event has happened in which he lost his memory. So you made me laugh, yay! Glad you are enjoying it**

 **Jyoster: I'm glad you find it interesting**

 **martyrex: Hmm it would be interesting for Shadow to be a skitty XD I would find it very funny. Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I'll implement a skitty into the story somehow.**

 **Sorry I should've done these earlier. I sincerely apologize. At first I didn't think this story would be that big of a hit. But you guys made it happen. I am truly grateful for all of you.**

 **Anyways, enough of me rambling, let's get on with it!**

 **Also I do not own Pokémon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog**

 **Chapter 3**

 **Welcoming the Light and Giving it to the Lost**

 _I fell from the sky…_

His words seemed to echo is Sylveon's mind. _He fell from the sky?_ How is this possible? This isn't possible. There was no way this young Riolu could have fallen from the sky. The thing Sylveon saw was lighting up the sky and hit the ground with devastating force. Nothing could have survived a fall to the planet like that.

Was it possible though?

Then it made a bit more sense. The young Riolu's fur was charred. No way could that have been from a forest fire or from accidentally burning himself. His fur was charred when he fell from the sky. Then she noticed his golden fur, which emanated bright light when the sun shone upon it. There was also his knowledge. The Riolu had no idea what she was talking about when she mentioned the Gem Continent or the Mist Forest. _Then again, he could just be not from the Gem Continent,_ she thought. But still, his claim could be real. So how would she answer him?

"W-what?!" she said in astonishment. Well, that was her answer.

"I know it may seem hard to believe but…" Shadow looked down at the ground in shame as he trailed off. Would she really believe him? He highly doubted it. If anyone heard his story, they would probably do one of 2 things: A. Believe him, which was like a 5% chance of happening, or B. Say that the story was too farfetch'd and that this kid made it up. _Kid,_ he thought, silently wincing at the thought. _Is that all I really am?_

Sylveon could tell that the Riolu was troubled. The sincerity that she saw in his eyes told her that he was not making this one up. Then it dawned upon her as she noticed he was looking down at the ground. He was in shame. The young child must have thought that Sylveon didn't believe him. She didn't know how to go around with this. The thing he said sounded real, how he looked applied to the situation, the fact that he could run fast in a way supported it too, but still. This could be false. But there was also the fact that something did fall from the sky. Could this Riolu come up with a lie so big as falling from the sky? Sylveon pondered this again. The truthful sound in his voice, him looking down in shame. Then she knew he was telling the truth. Sylveon then began to answer him.

"I believe you," she stated. Shadow looked up at her with surprise. The 5% chance did happen. Sylveon believed him. She really did believe him! Then Sylveon began to speak again. "How did it happen though?"

"To be honest, I don't know," Shadow began. It was the truth. "All I remember was this burning feeling and pain surrounding my body as I was falling. I don't remember anything before that. It's just...blank." Sylveon then asked him a question. "Do you not remember anything at all?" Shadow thought for a second. He tried to piece anything that was left in his memories that were in the deepest part of his mind. Nothing came to his thoughts. There was only five things he knew: 1. His name was Shadow, 2. He's not supposed to be in this form, 3. He's from a different world, 4. Somehow he was able to run fast, and 5. Someone called for help. Shadow just shook his head.

"I don't remember my past," he answered sadly. "I don't know where I'm from, but I know that I'm not from this world, I don't know how I was able to get, I don't know…"

"You say you are not from this world?" Sylveon asked. Shadow nodded, looking at her. "Are you human?" she questioned. Shadow didn't know at the moment. "I don't know," he answered. "I don't think I was human. Maybe I was something else. All I know is that I'm not supposed to be this way." Shadow tried to answer Sylveon in the best possible way he could, but he barely knew anything about himself.

"So you turned into a Pokemon and you're not human?" she said. Shadow became confused at her statement. "Pokemon?" he asked. "Is that what I am? I mean right now? What is a Pokemon?" _Welcome to a Whole New World,_ Shadow thought.

"Well," she said. Sylveon was trying to think about how to answer his question. Then she came up with it. "Yes, you are a Pokemon. Specifically a Riolu." Shadow pondered this and answered her. "So I'm a Riolu?" "Correct," she answered. "I'll explain some things to my best ability. First let me ask you something. Do you remember your name?"

"Shadow." _Huh, how ironic,_ Sylveon thought.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. Shadow wondered what Sylveon was thinking. _What's wrong with my name? Is it bad or something?_

"No," Sylveon answered. "It's just...well...you're name just doesn't really suit you." "It doesn't?" he asked. "It's ironic," Sylveon said. "I mean for a Pokemon named 'Shadow' I'd thought the Pokemon's fur be like grey, maybe even black. But for you, your fur is golden. It shines beautifully in the sun." Shadow looked up at her. "I..I don't think it's a bad name," she continued. "I think it's wonderful." _Great,_ he thought sadly. _Now probably others will make fun of me…_

"Anyway," she continued. "This world is inhabited by beings known as Pokémon. I myself, am a Pokémon. You are a Pokémon at the moment. Currently the continent you are on is the Gem Continent, one of the five continents in this world. Where you fell from the sky was a place called Ruby Mountain. The village where I come from, known as the Emerald Village, holds the mountain as sacred. Mist Forest is, well, a forest, but it's a place where Pokémon can get herbs and berries to heal them if they're sick. That's why I thought my sister Eevee went there because currently, my brother Vaporeon is sick."

Shadow was beginning to understand a bit. So the voice he heard was most likely Sylveon's sister Eevee. She is lost and probably is in Mist Forest. The place he fell from the sky from is Ruby Mountain. _That was the place where the waterfall was…_ he thought. There was also Pokémon. The beings of this world are called Pokémon. Shadow is a Pokémon now, a Riolu. So is Sylveon and…

 _Eevee!_ He thought. They've been spending time explaining that Sylveon should be looking for Eevee. Not to mention the desperation she had in her voice when he heard Eevee. Her sister could be in danger. For all he cared, Sylveon could explain more stuff later. There was an odd feeling in him that needed to find Eevee. Almost like...he was determined to find her and save her, even though he has never met Eevee before.

"Wait!" Shadow interrupted. Sylveon looked at him. "I'm sorry to stop you, but you mentioned Eevee. Shouldn't you be looking for her?"

The realization dawned on Sylveon. _She forgot about her sister._ "Oh my Arceus!" she exclaimed. "I forgot about her! I have to find her!" Then Sylveon turned away from him and ran in the opposite direction. She began running towards Mist Forest. Shadow began to run after her. "Hold up!" Shadow yelled in her direction. But Sylveon was already too far ahead to hear him. There was one thing left to do.

Run after her.

He didn't know how far ahead she was, but Shadow knew that she must've not gotten that far. Though, reaching her might be a bit of a challenge. He would have to learn how to control his speed. He didn't want to run past her, for fear of accidentally running her over. Instead, he tried to go as slow as possible to reach Sylveon. To him, slow was usual running speed for most beings. When he tried to run, however, he ended up going fast.

Sylveon was way ahead when she heard a rush of wind fly past her. She looked in surprise. It was Shadow. He stopped a few feet in front of her. Sylveon could see that he was trying to gain his balance. _Shadow needs to learn how to control his speed,_ she thought to herself. He looked at her in embarrassment. Shadow smiled in a sheepish manner. "Hehe," the Riolu laughed awkwardly. Then he put on a serious look towards her. "Sylveon," he said. "Please. Let me help you."

Shadow felt weird when he said this to the pink and white Pokemon. It was as if he never asked to help anyone. Heck it seemed like he never asked for help before. But with his state of mind, he couldn't recollect the reason why he never asked for it or to lend his assistance. _Why would I never ask for or help anyone?_ He thought. _Isn't helping someone a good thing? And sometimes, all of us need help. Now that I think of it, I need help._

Since he couldn't remember anything, it was nearly impossible to find out who he was or where he came from without the assistance of another. It was like trying to read a book without the lights on. Shadow needed guidance. Even though it felt weird asking for it, he truly felt that it was necessary at the moment. How else would he get to where he was suppose to be? How would he get home? _Home…_ Shadow thought. _Where and What is my home? Do I have a family? Do I have friends? Do I have someone who cares about me?_

Sylveon looked at him surprise. Shadow wanted to help her find her sister? At first she would say, 'Oh thank you!' in a heartbeat, but for something like that to come from the young Riolu was strange. This complete stranger, who was from another world, wanted to help her? It was certainly odd. But as Sylveon thought about it, she realized why he asked. Shadow has no place to go. Nothing to do. No family or friends to turn to. He is from another world. Even worse, he lost his memory. No knowledge about one's own self. It was like a completely filled chalkboard was wiped clean of its problems, answers, and stories. Shadow doesn't know anything about himself or this world. He has no place to go, he can't follow his rainbow. Shadow wanted to tag along with Sylveon so that he would be with someone. Someone who could give him guidance. For now at least.

"Shadow," Sylveon said. "Thank you," Those were the only words to come out. Shadow looked at her with fiery determination in his eyes. A look who's passion could never be extinguished. She was then filled with hope. The kind of hope that would find her sister. "I will do my best to help you," he said with confidence in his words. "We'll find your sister Eevee. I promise." _Promise me that you'll help them…_ a voice echoed in his mind. _I will,_ he said in his mind.

And with that, the two began to run towards Mist Forest. Sylveon was in the lead with Shadow close behind, controlling his speed to that of the Pokemon he was with at the moment.

* * *

A small, brown and white, furry Pokemon walked silently through the forest. She was deep in thought. Clearly, she was looking for something. But she couldn't find the specific thing she was looking for. At this thought, Eevee was greatly troubled.

"Where are they?" she asked quietly. Eevee did not want to disturb anyone. "Umbreon had said that Oran Berries grew in Mist Forest. They are the only things that can heal Vaporeon. He said it himself."

She remember hearing her sister Sylveon and Umbreon talking with each other last night. They were talking about Vaporeon's sickness. He had been sick the past few days and for some reason, the sickness wasn't letting up. All of her brothers and sisters had tried to figure out the mysterious illness. But it was to no avail.

They had tried every remedy there was in the village. Emerald Village had the best medicine and remedies around. They couldn't get any others from other continents because they were secluded. The Lapras Liner never comes here. Heck no one comes here. So the village just had to make do like they always have done. _Remain to tradition,_ she silently thought.

The village elder Tyrantrum had always taught the children to remain to tradition. Without it, where would they be now? They surely wouldn't survive, would they? If they had tried farming a different way, wouldn't that make more food for everyone? If they had tried to go to the Sapphire Sea a different way in order to worship Kyogre, wouldn't they get there faster? If they had tried to get in contact with the other continents, wouldn't the help of other continents make their lives easier?

Eevee thought about these from time to time. _Remain to tradition._ But why? It only makes them suffer even more. Some of the children thought about this too. They were tired of tradition. Why suffer at the hands of Xerneas and Yveltal when there is another way? The children vowed to one day leave the village and explore the world. They wanted to know what it was like. They were curious to see how others lived. They wanted to bring some of the things they learned back to the village so that everyone could live better.

But it is impossible to leave the Gem Continent. There is absolutely no way to leave. Some thousands of years ago, an argument occurred between the legendaries. The ones who ruled the Gem Continent, Groudon and Kyogre, became furious with Ho-oh and Lugia, the rulers of the Air Continent. No one knows why this predicament occurred, but it is said that Groudon and Kyogre where corrupted with darkness in their hearts. Seeing the darkness in their hearts, Arceus sealed them away within the Gem Continent in a mysterious location, forbidding anyone to go to and from there. That meant anyone already there could no longer leave. Arceus believed that those there were already corrupted as is.

He is wrong. Eevee knew this for a fact. There were good Pokemon in the village. They had good intentions. There were her brothers and sisters who looked out for her. The best example would probably be her best friend Fennekin. She is a light hearted, kind, and a fun companion to be around with. However, there were times where some would make fun of her, such as those bullies Monferno and Electrike. However, most of the time, they tried to ignore their insults. Then they end up getting hurt by them. Whenever Eevee tells Tyrantrum about it and that Monferno and Electrike should be punished, he usually says that it's a form of competition. Competition? How is it competition if it's making fun of someone and physically hurting them? That was another reason why she wanted to leave. She never wanted to see their faces again.

But back to the whole Oran Berry thing. When they had tried everything, there was only one thing left: Oran Berries. Umbreon said that these berries make pokemon super strong and get their strength back. If anything can heal Vaporeon, an Oran Berry can. Umbreon thought the reason that Vaporeon got sick was smoke inhalation from Ruby Mountain. But when Tyrantrum heard this, he thought that it was a punishment from Groudon that he got too close to Ruby Mountain. But Umbreon wouldn't believe that. Oran Berries would be the cure, but on the Gem Continent they were very rare. The only place they are found is in Mist Forest. It's been known as a foggy mystery dungeon, in which some powerful pokemon lived in the center of it. And for that reason, Umbreon didn't want any of his siblings going in there.

They had proposed that they would go searching for Oran Berries in the morning, but Eevee knew the only place to find them was here. Then she heard Sylveon say that it would be best if Eevee stayed home so that she wouldn't get hurt. Eevee was frustrated by this. She wanted to prove that she was strong as well as her brothers and sisters. And this was the only way to do it: by going into Mist Forest and finding Oran Berries.

As she searched, Eevee heard a loud roaring sound. At once she grew scared. But then she realized that it wasn't coming from around her. _It was coming from the sky._

Suddenly, a bright light shone throughout the sky. It engulfed the area. Then, a small beam shot through the sky in a fiery fury. It carried all the noise with it. Eevee then shot for the ground and began trembling with fear. Her ears were covered by her paws, trying to block out any noise that came in reach. Then an explosion was heard. BOOM! The ground shook. Trees swayed in the rush of wind. Everything trembled before the thing that fell from the sky. Eevee was scared out of her mind.

Then, as is time stood still, everything stopped. The trees no longer swayed. The wind no longer moved. Everything was silent. Eevee got up from where she was. _What was that?_ She wondered. The Pokemon was astonished at what had transpired. Something had fallen from the sky and landed somewhere far away. But she knew that she couldn't worry about that now. Eevee had to find the Oran Berries.

A dense fog began to settle in. Mist Forest was always known for its low visibility. They say that when the fog appears, spirits come and take those who are trapped within the fog. That's what the village believes at least. When the fog appears, it also get notably colder as well.

A rustling was heard in one of the trees. Eevee began to quiver in fear. Fading shadows were seen on the ground. They were running swiftly through the treetops. Eevee didn't want to find out what they were. So she did one thing. She ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Eevee panicked. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come here after all, like Umbreon said.

Then, one of the shadows jumped out at her! She screamed. "Help!" Eevee cried in desperation. The shadow reached out at the poor Pokemon, slicing its claws at her. Its eyes were gleaming a bright red in the fog. Eevee still continued to run.

 _Swipe! Swipe! Swipe!_ Went the claws in the darkness. "Heelllpppp!" Eevee cried out louder. She was running deeper into Mist Forest. She didn't care about the Oran Berries now. All Eevee cared about was getting out alive. But she didn't know how to get out of the fog infested forest. There was no way out. Everywhere she turned was just another pathway in this inescapable maze. More shadows began to follow the frightened Pokemon. They're claws were clashing one another, slicing through the underbrush with ease.

In the distance, the trees began to slowly thin out. It was a clearing. At that moment, Eevee started to feel relieved. She began to think that the clearing was a way out. She would be free from the awful things that these monsters were doing. She would be able to go home and see her family. They must be very worried about her. Especially Sylveon. Eevee would go home and tell them how sorry she was. How that she was only trying to help. Joy began to swell up in her entire being.

Oh, how she was wrong.

The clearing was just a dead end. It was the center of Mist Forest. And there, a bush containing small blue round objects, was frizzed in sunlight. _Oran Berries,_ Eevee thought. _I've found them!_ Hope surged into her body as she had finally found the cure for her brother.

But then she forgot about something. _The shadows._ Eevee turned around. She gasped. Four shadows surrounded her. They were scratching their claws together. _Slash! Slash! Slash!_ The sound of the claws went. She was terrified out of her mind. "HEEELLLLLPPPP!" she cried out. The shadows began to close in on her. Their eyes were glowing a bright red. Eevee trembled in fear. And then..a five shadow came from behind her! Eevee screamed. This one looked like the leader of the pack of shadows. Its big silhouette was visible in the fog.

"Weavv…" the leader said. It showed its gleaming claws. "Weavv…"

* * *

Shadow and Sylveon had made it. Mist Forest. The outer entrance just looked like a bunch of trees. But there was something odd about it. A dense fog was seen surrounding the forest.

Sylveon looked to the golden Riolu. She began to speak. "Mist Forest is a mystery dungeon," she said. Shadow looked at her with a questioning look. _What's a mystery dungeon?_ He thought. Sylveon saw his look and began to explain. "Mystery dungeons are like mazes," she explained. "Every time you go in one, the route is not always the same. It changes. Well at least the layout of it. Items can be found in mystery dungeons, such as berries."

She then sighed as she looked in the direction of the forest. Shadow glanced at the forest and then back to her. "What's wrong?" he asked. "There's another thing about these dungeons," she began. "Strong and powerful pokemon live in these mystery dungeons. They can end up hurting others very badly because they cannot control themselves. That's one of the reason Umbreon didn't want anyone going into Mist Forest, especially Eevee. We can't take on the enemy pokemon in the dungeon."

"Well maybe we can," Shadow said, looking determined. Sylveon looked at him in astonishment. "We'll find a way to beat them. We'll find your sister." Shadow could see the worried look in the pink pokemon's eyes earlier. So he did the one thing he could. Try to cheer her up. And when he did, Sylveon's expression seemed to change. She was no longer sad, but instead filled with hope.

"You're right," Sylveon stated. "We can do it. We'll find Eevee no matter what!" "That's the spirit I like to see!" Shadow said joyfully. He put a thumbs up to show his appreciation. Although, when he did, it felt like he had seen someone else do it so many times as well. And every time he thought about it, it felt like he was always annoyed by the person who did it. But Shadow didn't know why he was annoyed. Was it because he hated the person? Or was it because he did something stupid? Who knows? Shadow would have to figure it out later.

They began to make their way into Mist Forest. It got noticeably colder than it was outside the dungeon. The fog increased tenfold. The visibility dropped so low that Shadow and Sylveon couldn't see each other.

Except they could.

Sylveon stared at the golden Riolu in bewilderment and awe. Shadow wondered what the matter was, until he saw light. And it was coming from him. Emanating from Shadow's body was a bright golden light. He looked at his entire being. Shadow realized he was glowing. As he was, the fog began to depart from them. Things became more noticeable as the outline of trees were overlooking the path. Though, there were no sign of enemy pokemon nearby. That, at least, was a good sign.

The only glow began to fade from Shadow's pelt. It no longer shined as it did before. Sylveon shot a look at the Riolu, who was just as astonished as he was. "How…?" she stuttered. "How did you …?" "I...I...don't know." Shadow said as he finally got the words to spill out. One minute he was perfectly fine, the next he's glowing like a star. There was still so much he didn't know about himself. "I'll find out someday," he said in response.

Sylveon felt bad for Shadow. He forgot everything he knew about himself. Heck, he wasn't even himself. But what she just saw was something a normal Riolu couldn't do. At first she thought it was him using Flash. Though that wasn't Flash. True, the fog rolled away form the area, like Flash would be able to do, but that wasn't how the move worked. It was usually a short burst of white light and the fog would go away in an instant.

This action though, it was strange. His entire golden pelt was practically spewing the light to her. And it felt good. It was like her heart was cleansed of all her angry and unwanted thoughts. The darkness, although it was just a tiny bit, was completely eradicated from her heart. She felt at peace. Sylveon knew that is one of the reasons that it wasn't Flash. The second reason is that Riolu can't learn Flash either. Shadow would have to find out one day what that was.

They continued to walk through the forest. At times, the fog got thicker, but it was quickly diminished by Shadow's glowing pelt. Then he asked a question to Sylveon. "Is this why it's called 'Mist Forest?'" he asked. "Because of the amounts of fog?" "Well yes," Sylveon answered truthfully. "Though there is a reason why Umbreon didn't want us to come here."

"You see," she began. "Supposedly this place is home to spirits. And whenever the fog appears, the spirits come after you and take you. They forever trap you within a never ending fog, and you are never able to get out. You are never seen again." Now Shadow understood why Sylveon feared for her sister. If these "spirits" truly took someone, they could never get out. And he could feel that Sylveon had a deep connection with her sister.

"Honestly, I never really believed those stories from our village," she stated. "I always thought that a Farfetch'd had told them. But since we arrived, I became a bit worried." "Do you think your village tells stories so that Pokemon stay away from places that they are not allowed to go in?" asked Shadow. "Maybe," Sylveon answered. "I don't think I would doubt Tyrantrum, but lately…"

"But lately what?" Shadow asked "Who is Tyrantrum?" "Tyrantrum is the elder of our village," she answered. "He oversees everything in the village. However, he's been acting differently than usual. I don't know what it is. He seems harder on everyone in the village." _Perhaps what Arceus said thousands of years ago was true…_ "Especially the younger pokemon. It's just… odd I guess."

The two kept on walking through the dimly lit forest. As they got deeper, the fog kept increasing. And with it, Shadow's shining pelt increased in brightness. "How exactly long are mystery dungeons?" he asked. "It can vary," she answered him. "It depends on the size of the place itself. Some could have 3 floors, and some could have 18 floors." "18 floors!?" Shadow looked at her in astonishment. "Don't worry," she said. "Mist Forest isn't that big. At least that's what Tyrantrum said."

"Isn't he the guy who also told you that there were spirits?" Shadow questioned her. "And yet there are none here…"

"HEELLLPPP!" a loud voice screamed.

"Yet," Shadow stated as he finished his sentence. "That's Eevee!" Sylveon said in excitement, but also with a hint of fear. Fear for her sister. The one who ran off here to find a cure for Vaporeon. And now she was being attacked by the spirits. "Hold on Eevee!" Sylveon yelled as she ran off into the fog. "Sylveon wait!" Shadow called after her, as she wouldn't be able to see though the somewhat like peanut butter thickness fog on her own. Shadow sighed. There was no stopping her. He ran after her at a faster speed. "We've coming Eevee!" he yelled as Shadow ran after Sylveon who ran towards the one who was in danger.

* * *

Eevee was surrounded. All sides of her were surrounded. There was no going anywhere. The shadows had surrounded her. Their eyes gleamed at her in the fog. Then there was a noise behind her. She turned around in fear. A fifth shadow had come up from behind her!

"Weavv…" it said, as its eyes and claws were gleaming the fog. "No...please!" Eevee yelled in terror. "You invaded our territory," one of the shadows said ominously. She turned around. The shadows were closing in on her. Eevee was trembling with fear. "I..I just wanted some Oran Berries for.." "You fool!" the leader yelled. Eevee jumped back. "You are a thief! You have come to take our berries! Now we shall deal with you!" "No!" Eevee said in fear. "Please! I didn't mean harm!" "You clearly meant harm!" the leader said. "We shall deal with you now!"

They began to encircle her even move. Eevee got to the ground and was shaking. _This is it…_ she thought. Eevee could hear their claws slicing against each other. Oh they meant harm. _I'm sorry Vaporeon,_ she thought. _I'm sorry I couldn't get you the cure. I'm sorry…_ She closed her eyes and waited for the impending doom.

But it never came.

"EEVEE!" a voice yelled in desperation. Eevee recognized that voice. Sylveon. Her sister. Her sister had come! She opened her eyes. Her heart leaped for joy! The shadows turned around to see a pink and white pokemon. It was her! In the flesh! The leader of the shadows wasn't surprised by this. The young one would probably have back up. But what surprised him wasn't the pokemon who called the young one's name. It was the pokemon that was beside her.

A Riolu. A golden Riolu. _A shiny,_ he thought.

As clear as daylight, a Riolu stood beside her. His golden fur shined in the sunlight. Eevee was also surprised by this. Not just the fact that it was a shiny. It was the fact that she had never met the Riolu before. _Who is he?_ She wondered. _Where did he come from? How did Sylveon find him?_ So many questions were running through her head right now. But one thing was certain. She was glad her sister was there right now.

"Leave her alone!" Sylveon yelled. She as well as Shadow began to walk towards her. "Who are they?" asked Shadow. "Sneasel and Weavile," she answered. "I should have known. The reason why it's always cold in Mist Forest and the fog is because of them." Eevee ran towards her sister in desperation. "Sylveon!" she cried out. The younger pokemon nuzzled Sylveon with joy. "Please forgive us," Sylveon said. "Eevee was only trying to…"

"Silence!" yelled Weavile. The three pokemon looked back at him with shock. "You are all invading our territory! And your friend here was trying to steal our Oran Berries! You shall be dealt with! Attack!"

At that moment, they are surrounded. The Sneasel and Weavile had them in a standstill. And they were closing in fast. Their eyes gleamed with red.

"Sylveon I'm scared!" Eevee cried out in fear. "I know," Sylveon said calmly, trying to comfort her sister's fearfulness. But it was no use. There was no way of getting out of this. Unless…

Shadow came up with something. "Sylveon," he said to her. Sylveon turned around. "We need to fight!" "Are you crazy Shadow?" she said to him. Eevee looked at the Riolu. _Shadow,_ she thought. _How ironic._

"There is no other way out of this!" he stated. That fiery passion lit up in his eyes. "We either fight or we'll be destroyed!" Sylveon knew Shadow was right. There was no way out. It's either do or die at this point. But she couldn't risk Eevee. _No,_ she silently reminded herself. _Eevee can take care of herself. She is a good battler. But Shadow… he's never fought in a fight has he?_

Shadow waited for her answer. _Come on Sylveon!_ He thought. _We need to fight! We can win!_ But can they though? Shadow has never been in a fight before. Or at least as far as he remembered. But still, he had to do something. They have to do something to get out of this situation.

"I'll fight," she said. Sylveon was determined. "I'll fight too!" Eevee said. Shadow looked at them with determination. The fire in his eyes was like a blazing forest fire. Oh he was ready to fight.

The Sneasel and Weavile launched themselves at them! Shadow dodged one of the Sneasel's incoming claws. He did a backflip and landed on this feet. The Sneasel still was coming out him. It kept trying to strike Shadow with its claws. Oh how it was failing. Shadow was dodging claws left and right. Despite Sneasel being a fast Pokemon, Shadow was undoubtedly faster. Occasionally, its claws glowed a black aura. That was when the Sneasel's attacks hit Sylveon and Eevee as they were fighting them. But for some odd reason, they weren't hitting Shadow. He was just too fast for them.

"They're using Feint Attack!" Sylveon yelled. One hundred percent of the time, Feint Attack always hit its intended target. But Eevee was surprised how fast Shadow was going. Nobody could go that fast or even dodge for that matter. Not even the fastest of legends. I mean, this was a guaranteed move to hit! And he was dodging it with ease!

Eventually, the Sneasel he was fighting became tired. But was Shadow tired? Oh heck no. But he knew that he would have to attack eventually. Shadow stopped and stood in front of the Sneasel. He could see that the Sneasel was tired. The Sneasel was panting and sweating. Then, Shadow ran up to it, and he punched with all his might.

The Sneasel was sent flying into a tree. Once it hit the tree, it sank to the ground. The Sneasel had fainted. Shadow looked up with shock. How did he do that? Since when did he have that amount of strength? Then Eevee yelled to him. "That was Vacuum Wave! It's four times super effective!" Shadow had no idea what that meant, but he assumed it was a good thing. Another Sneasel came at him. Shadow did his strategy and dodged until the Sneasel was tired. Then he used Vacuum Wave. Again, the Sneasel was sent flying into a tree and fainted in an instant.

He then looked over at Sylveon, who was fighting a Sneasel as well. She used some sort of wind that blow the Sneasel away. It fainted as well. Shadow then looked over at Eevee, who was just about done fighting the last Sneasel. She used some sort of move that shot stars at the Sneasel. The last one fainted. But then, out of nowhere, Weavile leapt on top of Eevee! "Ahh!" she cried out in pain. "Eevee!" Sylveon cried out. She began run towards her sister to help her out. But the Weavile used his claws and slashed them at Sylveon. She fell to the ground in pain. "That...was...Slash…" she whispered in pain.

Shadow was angry. No only was Eevee was pinned down, but Sylveon was hurt as well. "Let her go!" he yelled. Weavile looked at him with surprise. _This kid was challenging him? Heh, this'll be fun._ "You're trying to challenge me kid?" Weavile said. Oh how Shadow hated that he was called that. He was more than just a kid. "Let Eevee go." Shadow said sternly. 'And why should I?" the Weavile asked sarcastically. "She tried to steal my Oran Berries! She doesn't deserve to live!" He began to laugh at him. Oh how he loved annoying this kid. How much harm could a young Riolu do? He's too young! Oh how Weavile could wipe the floor with him! But what Weavile didn't realize is how angry he had made the young Riolu. And he was about to realize that he made the worst mistake he could've possibly come up with at the moment.

"Let. Her. Go. NOW!" Shadow yelled in fury. As he did, his fur began to glow. His eyes were shining a bright red and were filled with passion and determination. Shadow had found the urge to focus his paws together. And that he did. Once he parted his paws, a bone made of aura appeared out of nowhere as his paws moved farther and farther apart. At last, the ends of the bone met, and Shadow grabbed it.

He launched himself at Weavile.

The Sharp Claw Pokemon was taken by surprise. As he saw the Riolu shoot towards him, he tried to out his claws up and defend. But his reaction time was way far off. Shadow was a heck of a lot faster than Weavile. He hit him with the bone and sent Weavile flying into the air.

Sylveon and Eevee stared in awe as they saw Shadow fight. The pressure on Eevee was relieved when Weavile was sent flying. Sylveon knew that Shadow was special because of her prior experience with him, but Eevee didn't know him. Now she knew that he was something special. No Riolu could learn Bone Rush. And yet, right before her eyes, was a Riolu who knew Bone Rush. _Impossible,_ Eevee thought as she was awestruck. _There's no way._ As she watched him fight, something inside of her heart was taken away. All of her fears and worries were gone. It was strange. She felt safe in the presence of Shadow. Eevee couldn't explain why. Her heart was gone of darkness.

But what no one noticed was that the four Sneasel were getting up. They still had that dark red gleam in their eyes. They saw their leader being Bone Rushed into the sky. The Sneasel then began to target the Riolu.

Shadow looked at the sky and saw Weavile fall. But surprisingly, he came down landing on his feet. Needless to say he was still damaged by the Bone Rush. He then had a devilish smile on his face. Shadow faced him and was ready to attack. But his reaction timing wasn't fast enough to see what was coming for him.

Then, the Sneasel all pummeled Shadow at once with Feint Attack!

"Shadow!" the sisters cried out. He was thrown back into a tree. Shadow was severely hurt and in pain. However, he refused to give up. Shadow started to try to stand up. Eventually, he was up on two legs but he was shaky and wobbly for a moment. Then he gasped. The Sneasel and their leader Weavile were coming right at him. The situation was hopeless. Or so it seemed. Shadow looked for his bone sword thing, but it had disappeared when he hit the tree. Perhaps he could make another one? It was his only option at the moment.

Shadow closed his eyes and began to focus. He drew his paws closer together. The gang of Pokemon were still running at him. As his paws were together, they were in a different formation. Then, a small sphere began to form in between. Sylveon knew that move. _Aura Sphere,_ she thought. _A move that only the most skilled of pokemon can learn. But Riolu can't learn._ Her and her sister were even more awestruck. Just how many impossible things could this Riolu do?

The sphere was growing larger and larger until it was the size of a usual Aura Sphere. Shadow opened his eyes. Those bright ruby eyes were filled with shock. He himself was amazed at what he could do. There was so much he needed to learn. Then he saw the Sneasel and Weavile coming towards him. Shadow knew what he needed to do. He threw his paws back, with the newly formed energy filled sphere in it, and then threw the sphere right at the gang of pokemon. They looked at the incoming sphere with terror in their eyes.

BOOM!

An explosion was heard. The Sneasel and the leader Weavile were sent flying backwards. They screamed. Then they hit the ground. All of them had fainted. Shadow looked at the piled up fainted pokemon with shock and excitement. He had won! He beat them! He beat Weavile and his gang! Sylveon and Eevee were thinking the same thing as him. Weavile and the Sneasel were defeated!

Shadow then jumped for joy. "Alright!" he yelled. "We did it! We did it! Yeah!" He then ran over to Sylveon and Eevee to make sure they were okay. Eevee greeted him with amazement and joy. "That. Was. AWESOME!" she yelled in excitement. "How were you able to perform Bone Rush AND Aura Sphere? Not to mention your speed! Your speed is incredible!" "Uhh," Shadow stuttered. "I honestly don't know." He raised his paws and did an "I don't know" kind of posture. "I still have a lot to learn about myself I guess." "What do you.." Eevee was about to say, but then she heard noises. The three pokemon turned around.

Groans were heard as the gang of Pokemon were beginning to wake up. But something was different about them. Their eyes no longer gleamed. "Ugh," Weavile groaned. "What...happened?" Shadow, Sylveon, and Eevee looked at them with shock. How did they not remember the fight? "I don't know boss," one of the Sneasel said in confusion. It was true. They didn't know what happened. "All I remember was this darkness sweeping over us and then here we are," another Sneasel said.

"You don't remember?" asked Shadow. They turned around. In front of them was a Sylveon, an Eevee, and a _shiny_ Riolu. The Weavile gang was surprised at what they saw. Not just because it was a shiny Riolu, but how did they get here? "Who are you?" asked Weavile.

Shadow then began to explain how he fell from the sky and how he met Weavile gang and Eevee were both in shock and awe. How could this happen? How did he fall from the sky? Where did he come from? At some point, they felt bad for Shadow because of the fact that he lost his memory. Then Shadow turned it over to Eevee when he got to the part when they found Eevee. She then told on how she got here, how her brother Vaporeon was sick and he needed Oran Berries in ordered to be healed. The fight scene was told, how Shadow performed a Bone Rush and an Aura Sphere, everything, every single detail was told. The Weavile gang sat there and nodded when they understood something. At last, Eevee was done with her part of the story. Then the pokemon got up.

"We apologize if we caused you any harm," Weavile said. "We're not usually like that." "Sneasel mentioned darkness," Sylveon said. "What do you mean by that?" "We're not sure how it happened," one of the Sneasel answered, a different one this time. "He's right," another answered. "It just came over us," the third one said. "One minute everything is fine, the next your entire world is dark," the fourth one said.

"Please," Weavile begged. "We ask for your forgiveness." He as well as the other members of his gang knelt before him. Sylveon and Eevee gasped. Never before has someone kneeled down before them. However there was still one matter. Could they truly forgive them? The Weavile gang tried to hurt them, but then again, they weren't themselves. Shadow could see the guilt and pain in their eyes as they had their heads down before him. The Riolu began to speak.

"I forgive you," he stated. The Weavile gang looked at him with shock. Sylveon and Eevee nodded their heads as well. The gang did not expect to be forgiven so easily.

"You said that all you saw was darkness yes?" he asked. They nodded. "Then it wasn't your fault. You didn't know what was happening. Something else was making you do that. We can't blame you if it wasn't _you_ who did it." The Weavile gang nodded in response, but they were still on their knees. Then Shadow did something that he thought he would never do. The Riolu raised his paw towards Weavile and urged him to grab it so he could get up.

"Come on," he smiled at him. "Everything's fine now. I forgive you."

Those words. They were the most astonishing thing that Shadow thought he had ever said in a lifetime. When he tried to think back, it was almost as if he used to be hard at forgiving others. But that was about to change. He himself was about to change. Shadow would help those in need in this world, and he would do it with his passion and fiery determination.

Weavile looked up at him with shock. At first he hesitated. But then, out of respect, he took the Riolu's paw. "Thank you," he said gratefully, as he got up. However, when he was getting up, he as well as the member of his gang felt something flow over their hearts. Their feelings of regret, anger, and guilt were gone. The darkness was gone from their hearts. The Sneasel also got up as well.

"We'll repay your kindness Shadow," Weavile said. He then pointed to one of the Sneasel and gestured him to one of the bushes. The Sneasel nodded in understanding. He went up to the bush and began to pick bright blue berries. After he was done, his arms were cradled around a bunch of them. He came back to Weavile, doing what his leader had told him to do. Eevee looked at the berries in awe. Oran Berries.

"Take a few of these Oran Berries for your brother," Weavile told them. "They'll help heal his sickness. These berries restore strength to any pokemon." Eevee came up to Sneasel and grabbed 4 from the bunch. She looked like she was about to cry. "Thank...thank you!" she stuttered in happiness.

"It is only a small thing in order to repay for your kindness," Weavile answered her. "But, I think it is time that we should have Mist Forest be a place for herbal harvesting again." "Really?" asked Sylveon. "Yes," Weavile answered. "Mist Forest will be open to you whenever you need herbs or berries." "The finest berries grow here!" The group of Sneasel behind Weavile chanted. "Wow," Sylveon said in astonishment. "Thank you!" "It is us who should be thanking you," Weavile stated. "After all, without Shadow or any of you, Mist Forest would still be dangerous."

"We are grateful for your gratitude Weavile and Sneasel," Sylveon assured them. "However, it is time that we head home." "I understand," he replied. "Please, let us show you the way out." "Thank you Weavile," Shadow said.

* * *

"Sayonara!" Shadow yelled to the Weavile gang as they walked away from the forest. "We'll come to see you again!" Eevee yelled. "Thank you for everything!" Sylveon yelled. "Be sure to come back soon!" Weavile waved to them. The three pokemon waved goodbye. "Bye!" The chorus of Sneasel yelled as Weavile and his gang waved goodbye to the traveling pokemon.

Time passed by and the forest was nowhere in sight. They had been traveling south for about a half an hour. Eevee was beginning to become tired. So were Shadow and Sylveon.

"How...much...farther?" Shadow asked tiredly. "No that much longer," she reassured him. "We have to find a big cliff before we see it." And as if to answer, a big cliff came into view. Shadow began to run faster than them. At last he reached to top of the cliff. Sylveon and Eevee shortly joined him. Shadow stared at the landscape with awe.

"Wow," he said. Shadow was awestruck. "This is beautiful." "It is isn't it?" Sylveon answered him. "I thought I'd never see this place again," Eevee said in relief. "Home." "Yes Eevee," Sylveon answered her. Shadow looked back at Sylveon and then to the landscape.

"Shadow, Welcome to the Emerald Village."

* * *

 **Author's Endnote**

 **Alright! That was a difficult chapter to write, not gonna lie. So let's explain some things!**

 **In this chapter, we get a taste of what the Emerald Village is like: from size to residents. I am trying to keep it original, so this place is different than Serene Village in Super Mystery Dungeon. We also get a look at some of the characters from Eevee's perspective. For example, Monferno and Electrike. Yeah yeah, call me out all you want, I know there were bullies back in Super Mystery Dungeon, but let's just say that these ones are a bit more ruthless than the ones in said mystery dungeon.**

 **Now there's something people are gonna question me about. Shadow's fur glowing and the darkness. I'm not gonna hint at what the darkness really is, but it's not like dark matter in SMD. This thing FEEDS off of positive feelings. I won't go any farther cause then you'll start guessing at what it is and if I say something it'll be a dead giveaway. Also I'm not gonna mention anything about Shadow either, because again dead giveaway.**

 **Next up is Mist Forest. This area is gonna be like those berry fields back in GTI (Gates to Infinity) Its a way in which Weavile and the gang think that this'll repay for their actions against the group. So Shadow might be stopping by here sometimes to go and get stuff when he heads out to help others.**

 **I've made a lot of references in this chapter.** _ **City Escape**_ **Music from SA2, lots of SA2 references mostly cause, well, it's Shadow. Also I'm hinting at Sonic's actions. Shadow can't remember who that person is because of his memory loss, but he can remember someone doing them. Another thing is that he gets a weird feeling whenever he does something** _ **nice.**_ **In a way, it's weird trying to put Shadow as a nice because, well he really shuts out his feelings and doesn't care about anything or anyone. But that'll change throughout the course of this story. You'll see.**

 **Last, tell me what you guys think. Tell what you guys like, if there is anything I need to fix, anything! I love the fact that you guys love my story! It's astonishing really! I didn't think that this story would get much attention. But I'll keep with it. I promise.**

 **Oooo Eevee may or may not have revealed the partner….**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya Universe!**

 **-Palkia**


	5. Ch4 Not the Way to Introduce Yourself

**Author's Note.**

 **Hello Universe! Palkia's here! Time to get into Chapter 4! Yee! I'm excited. However, there's a few things I need to say before we start.**

 **Infinite's Ruby: Thanks dude! I've been having a great time with this story! And I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

 **TheBigPickle: Actually, the reason I had him say he likes rock was because of the Sonic Twitter Takeover back in November around the time Forces was gonna come out. One of the questions was what was their favorite types of music and Shadow had said rock, so I went with that XD Anyways thanks and I'm glad you are enjoying it!**

 **Guest: XD Yeah I just love to throw some references in there**

 **Anon Omega: To be honest, I didn't think how significant the name to the village till you brought it up XD. Originally I named it that way because I wanted to do some references to the Gen 3 games, but I didn't notice that I name another too. Win win right?**

 **The last chapter was EXACTLY 8,999 words. That's the longest chapter that I have written so far. Holy Arceus that's a lot.**

 **Also sooner or later, maybe this chapter or the next one, we'll check back on Sonic for a bit. I haven't really decided yet on what should be happening in Sonic's world while Shadow was gone. It is either Forces of something I'll think of. Honestly it's probably not gonna be Forces cause I had an idea for that, so I'll write my own take on it someday. Just have Shadow randomly show up and Sonic be like "Shadow! You're alive!" and have Shadow lie about his experience or something like that. I'll go into detail when I get there. We'll see what I end up doing.**

 **So in this chapter, we'll first get into the partner's thoughts. Eevee first mentioned the partner in the last chapter, so you might want to look back. Just for clarification, THIS IS NOT A LOVE STORY. I do not ship these two together. I chose the partner for a specific reason. This story is about friendship and adventure, so I'm sticking to it. The partner is different than the base of the original back in chapter 2. The original was Pikachu, because Shadow had chose rock, cause well, he likes rock. But, in all honesty, I don't think Pikachu would fit as well with Riolu as this partner. One day, I'll probably have a story where they evolve, and the way I want this story to go, Lucario and Raichu wouldn't really fit that well together. I can go on and on, but I'll stop now. You guys want to get into the story. Enjoy!**

 **I do not own Pokemon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Not The Way to Introduce Yourself**

The sight was beautiful. Over that side of the cliff, Shadow got his first view of his new home. The Emerald Village. It was only a mile or two from where they were, though there were still able to see the outline of the village. The village itself, was small, but it is also big in it's own way. There were approximately 5 to 6 small houses there, including a small pond. There was also a small pillar in the center of the village. He wondered why that was there to begin with. Oh well, he'll find out later. To the east, there appeared to be a very small body of water, but Shadow could hardly see how big it is.

He turned to the east and pointed. "What's that body of water over there?" he asked. Sylveon turned her head to him. She saw that he was pointing to something and followed his direction. Then Sylveon knew what Shadow was talking about. _The Sapphire Sea._ Ah yes. Home of one of the Pokemon of whom they worshipped.

 _Kyogre._ The legendary Sea Basin Pokemon. The one who brought rains to the Gem Continent. There was a reason why they worshipped Kyogre, but only Tyrantrum knew why. Sylveon always had thought it was for the rains to come. That is what all the other villagers think. Though Kyogre isn't the only legendary they worship. Groudon, the Continent Pokemon, is also worshipped. He brings the sun to the continent. Again, that's what the villagers think. Nobody truly knows why they worship the two members of the Weather Trio. Well actually make that three, all of the members they worshipped. In fact, the village itself was named for Rayquaza, the Sky High Pokemon. He brought peace whenever Groudon and Kyogre fought. The Emerald Village, the Sapphire Sea, and Ruby Mountain, all named in honor of the Weather Trio.

Though the mystery was still there. After all, it was Groudon and Kyogre's fault that the entire population of pokemon that was on the Gem Continent would forever stay on the Gem Continent. Why did they fight with Ho-oh and Lugia? The Gem Continent is more than twice the size of the Air Continent. Why put up a struggle over a measly little piece of land? They were, as Arceus would put it, "Corrupted by darkness," _Corrupted by darkness…_ Sylveon thought. She had heard that before from Weavile's gang. _Darkness…_

Arceus had never truly explained to anyone how or why Groudon and Kyogre became "corrupted." As the village's history had said, Arceus had seen the two legends as they were becoming this way. He didn't know how to stop it. It was odd. Shouldn't a being like Arceus be able to get rid of the corruptness? Sylveon didn't know at the moment. Perhaps, like she thought earlier, the darkness from Groudon and Kyogre have been corrupting the pokemon on the Gem Continent. Perhaps…

"Sylveon?" a voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned in the direction of the voice. It was Shadow. Oh how she felt bad for the Riolu. They were bringing him to the village so that he could stay with them for the time being. Well, if the village pokemon would accept him. What was he going to do? Tell them that he fell from the sky like he did for them? She highly doubt that Tyrantrum would take it even a bit serious. Heck, they might even chastise him for his name. Oh Arceus, this is going to be challenging.

"Are you ok?" he asked. "Yes," she answered. "If you are wondering what that body of water is, it's called the Sapphire Sea. It's very far away from the village." "Oh," he said, then he turned towards the sea. She didn't want to say anymore. If she did, Sylveon would have to go into detail about Kyogre and the story of Darkness and the fact that Arceus won't let anyone leave the Gem Continent…

 _Wait…_ Sylveon thought. _If Arceus said that no one can leave, then that means…_ She looked at the young Riolu, whose ruby eyes were mesmerized as he looked on towards the sparkling water of the Sapphire Sea. One moment she was happy about him asking about this world. The next? Sylveon felt a pain of guilt inside of her. Shadow wanted to go home. He _needed_ to go home. Shadow could have family and friends waiting for him. Or worse, his own world could be in danger. And he can't leave…

For many centuries, even during the time in which Groudon and Kyogre had first gone corrupt, many as in hundreds and hundred of Pokemon had tried to leave. Their result? Failure. It was as if someone was guarding the exit to the Gem Continent. Either the Pokemon who went there came back, having no recollection of what they saw, or they didn't come back at all. Sylveon flinched at the sound of it. But for now, she would put that thought behind. Shadow was here, and now he would be living here for now. Hopefully.

"Eevee?" asked Shadow. She turned to him. "Yes Shadow?" she asked. "What's the village like?" he asked her. "Well…" she started. "It's kinda hard to explain." Shadow was confused by this. How is it hard to describe your home? "What are the Pokemon like?" he then asked. "That I can answer," Eevee answered confidently. "I have my brothers and sisters who live with me. You know Sylveon already. And you have heard of Vaporeon. Then there are my other brothers and sisters. They are Leafeon, Umbreon, Espeon, Flareon, and Jolteon." Again, just like Eevee and Sylveon names, they sounded weird. But, again, Shadow ignored them.

"We might as well keep going," Sylveon said. "We want to reach the village before sunset." Shadow and Eevee nodded to her in replience. Then, they began to make their way down the cliff. It wasn't that much of a slope, but it was still something to keep in mind as they walked down. 'When we get there," Sylveon said to Shadow. "We'll have to find a place for you to stay. For now, at least. We might be able to make room for one more, but our home is a bit tight as you have heard from Eevee."

"Does anyone else live in the village?" he asked. "Yes," Eevee answered. "But I kinda want to leave it as a surprise when you get there." The forest seemed to begin as they reached the bottom of the cliff. With home on their mind, they started to walk towards it.

* * *

A small, yellow and orange fox-like Pokemon ran through the village. She had a fox-like tail with orange markings. Her ears were big with tufts of orange fur. She had small yellow paws. Appearance-wise, she was just a normal Fennekin. Personality wise? No one liked her. They thought she was annoying. Did she have friends? Only Eevee. Other than that, there was no one else. Her parents loved her, but because of the village rules, they couldn't do anything about this.

At the same time she was excited as she was in fear. They were coming for her. Why couldn't they just leave alone? Why did they always have to annoy her? Why did they always have to make her feel bad? Why did they have to… _hurt her?_

"Come back here, Fennekin!" an angry voice yelled. "We're not done with you!" "Yeah! We're not done hurting you!" another voice yelled. "Just leave me alone!" she cried out as she ran. Then, something hit her in the head, causing her to fall down. A rock was thrown at her head. Oh, it hurt a ton. "Nice shot Monferno!" cried a voice. "We should totally have fox for dinner tonight!" "Quiet down, Electrike!" the one known as Monferno said. "We're not doing that! She messed up our work, and now she's gonna pay for it!"

Fennekin was scared. The pain from the thrown rock throbbed in her head. She couldn't get up. She didn't want to get up. It was too unbearable. At the same time, though, Fennekin had to get away. She would be alright if she left with a throbbing headache, but she wouldn't be fine if she got a beating. What would her parents say? They would be upset. _Why didn't you stand up for yourself?!_ She could imagine her father, Zoroark, yelling this again at her. Her mother, Delphox, was more forgiving, but she would still be upset. Why does the village have to be this way?

It feels like as the years of her life went on, life here was getting worse and worse. She didn't know why, it just felt that way. When she thought about, her earlier life was better than now. As time went on, everyone seemed to get worse and worse. Her parents were more harsh on her, Monferno and Electrike were more violent, and Tyrantrum was more focused on tradition than on the safety of the villagers. Heck, Eevee's brother, Vaporeon, was sick, and the village elder thought it was because Groudon was punishing him for going near Ruby Mountain. Clearly it was smoke inhalation. He didn't even set foot there! Vaporeon was just out getting supplies on the side of the mountain where the ash fell. That's why he was sick!

And yet, Tyrantrum didn't want them going to Mist Forest because Vaporeon deserves his punishment and the "spirits." Punishment?! He was only trying to help! And spirits? It was just an old folktale that no one believed. And now Eevee is lost somewhere looking for the cure while Fennekin had to stay behind in the village with Monferno and Electrike while everyone searched for Eevee. Why did she have to be left behind?

The village hated her. Fennekin knew this. She believed this. All except for Eevee and her siblings. Why did they hate her? Was it because she was annoying? Or was it because she, along with Eevee and some of the other village children, believed that there was another way to go through life instead of "tradition." However, she knew it wasn't that. Nobody knew that Fennekin desperately wanted to leave the village. Even if it was virtually impossible, she had to try. But how would she leave? The Lapras Liner didn't even come here. Fennekin would find a way. She had to remain determined. And at the sound of this, she got up and began to run again, thinking about what would be available beyond the Gem Continent.

As she was running, her thoughts got to her, and she didn't even see the stone pillar that was in the center of the village. Fennekin did realize, but only at the last minute. She couldn't stop. Her eyes went wide with fear. She wanted to scream, but if she did, they would find her. Fennekin closed her eyes and waited for the oncoming pain.

She crashed into the stone pillar with agony and pain. Her head began to throb in pain as the energy from her running transferred into the pillar. At least she was able to stop. Despite the pain, she looked up. The stone pillar, which in the village was a shrine to the legendary Rayquaza, didn't looked to be damaged at all. Fennekin sighed in relief. However, her happiness would be short lived. At first, she thought that her impact did nothing to it. True, it did no physical damage. That's not to say that the pillar wasn't affected at all.

The pillar began to lean. Fennekin began to notice this. _Oh no,_ she thought. The fox Pokemon knew what was about to happen next. And her response? Run. Run as fast as she could. It was going to come down on her. More pain would come. No. No, she did not want anymore. Fennekin ran as fast as her paws could carry her at the moment. The pillar began to lean further and further towards the ground. The base was shaken when she ran into it. Then, it began to fall. Falling faster and faster. She ran farther and farther. It was catching up to her. As parts of the pillar began to hit the ground, it broke apart into separate sections. Fennekin just kept on running. She was about to brace herself when she got hit. However, at last she was able to get away from the collapsing pillar.

After running a few feet away from the crumbled pillar, Fennekin turned around to see the damage to the pillar. She was panting hard and wildly. Then, her eyes were met with shock. The pillar was completely destroyed. All the pieces were dislocated. The stone was shattered into pieces. Fennekin became horrified. Not only did she touch the sacred pillar, she completely destroyed it. She was in deep trouble. The village held this shrine very sacred to Rayquaza. For it to be destroyed, oh how everyone would want to kill her. _Tyrantrum is going to be super mad,_ Fennekin thought.

"Fennekin!" a voice yelled. Fennekin turned around. No. No it can't be. How did they catch up to her? There she saw was Monferno. At first the look on his face was filled with anger, but then he gasped. The pillar was destroyed. Oh, he just got it good. Fennekin would be in so much trouble. She would get punished for sure. Monferno just got it lucky. The job would be done for him. But… then again, he did still want to fight Fennekin. He had his reasons for hating her. In some ways, Monferno and Electrike did this for fun. In another way, Monferno had his reasons.

As the fire monkey stared on at the broken pillar, Electrike came up from behind him. "Yo," he said to Monferno. He didn't answer him. Monferno was still shocked. "Did you find…" Electrike began, but then he followed his line of sight. And he saw it. The Emerald Shrine was in ruins. "Her…" he finished. He too, became shocked by the situation. The fact that Fennekin was actually stupid enough to run into the shrine and knock it clean off the base? Wow. This day couldn't get any better.

"Wow," Electrike said in astonishment. "You are rrreeaallyy in trouble now. The fact that _you_ ran into the shrine _deliberately_ and knocked it over! Tyrantrum would be mad as Distortion World." "No!" she said. "It's not what you think!" "I think it's crystal clear here," Monferno said half heartedly. "You broke the shrine on purpose!" "I didn't mean to!" Fennekin yelled. "Oh sure," Monferno said sarcastically. "Oh look who we found. Fennekin, the problem child, clearly destroyed the Emerald Shrine! Oh Rayquaza would be furious!"

Fennekin grew scared. Rayquaza was a very powerful legendary pokemon. Almost on the level of Arceus, Dialga, and Palkia. The village held Rayquaza as very sacred. For him to get mad? Oh, you would definitely get sent to the distortion world by him if he was in rage. Heck, he would send someone there before Giratina could do it! You would be dead where you stood.

"The entire village would be in flames!" Monferno yelled in sarcasm. "Everyone would die because of you! Blame you! Fennekin, the bringer of death to Emerald Village!" "Honestly!" she yelled at them. "It was an accident!" She began to back up as they advanced near her. There was a devilish look in their eyes. "Sure, sure" Electrike said. "However, when someone does something bad, they have to be punished!" "Just stay away from me!" she yelled in fear. Fennekin was cornered. Standing up against the fallen apart shrine, Monferno and Electrike were closing in on her, ready to cause some pain.

* * *

Shadow stared at the Oran Berries Eevee was carrying. Lots of things were running through his head at that moment. _So those berries can really heal Sylveon's brother Vaporeon?_ He wondered. Shadow was astonished at the healing power of these berries that Sylveon had told him about earlier. How could berries be that powerful? Well, then again, he was somewhere else. Another world. He agreed to himself that he would stay in the village with Sylveon and Eevee until he was able to get home. _And get my memory back,_ he silently added.

He wondered about what the village was like. Eevee said that she would leave it as a surprise. But he would prefer to find out. It would be better to know about a place before you got there then to just say, 'You'll find out.' He thought about these words for a moment. It felt like he had said those words before. Particularly to someone. But he couldn't remember that someone. Shadow hated the fact of having no memory. There was just nothing there. Nowhere to go. He felt lost. Lost and helpless. Shadow hated feeling helpless. He just did. The Riolu didn't know why he felt this way, but he felt that he could take care of himself. But there was nothing he could do now. Being in the Pokemon World was hard enough because not only do you not know where you are, but not know who you are.

Perhaps he was a totally different being than he is now. Maybe he was sent here for a reason. I mean, how else could he have fell from the sky? Unless someone did throw him into the sky and he was falling like that. No… He highly doubted that. Coming down to the planet with such a force like that and say you were thrown into the air? Forget it. Maybe one day he would find an explanation on why he was here. Why he was a Riolu. Why he has… this red bow. Where did he get it? At one time it wasn't natural to him that he would wear something like this, but at the same time, it feels natural. Like it resonates with his very soul. Shadow just didn't know. This world is a mystery. He himself is a mystery. How can he solve this?

Suddenly, a voice cut through his thoughts. "I didn't mean to!" someone shouted. Shadow looked around for the voice. "Huh?" he wondered. "Is something wrong Shadow?" Eevee asked. "Did you hear something?" he asked them. The sisters shook their heads. _Maybe I was just imagining it,_ he thought. Then, the same voice cut through again. "Honestly!" The voice yelled in desperation "It was just an accident!" Shadow looked around again. This time, he knew he wasn't just imagining things. The voice he heard was real. "I just heard it again," he stated. "I didn't hear anything," Sylveon said. "Neither did I," Eevee answered. "I'm serious," Shadow started. "I swear I heard someone. And they sounded like they were in trouble." And then, the voice cried out a third time. "Just leave me alone!"

Shadow's eyes widened. He then covered his ears. This time, the voice gave him a slight headache. After a moment, it was gone. Somebody was definitely in trouble. He had to do something. Even though he didn't know where it was coming from. He growled in frustration. He needed to find this voice. They were in trouble. Shadow had to stop it. And with that, he decided to run. Speeding up ahead of Sylveon and Eevee, Shadow took off in a super fast sprint. He was determined to find out was was happening. Though, he left Sylveon and Eevee behind in his dust.

"Shadow, wait!" Sylveon cried out to him. But he was already out of sight. "Woah," Eevee stayed in astonishment. She knew he could dodge very fast, but it see him _run_ fast was incredible. She then turned to her sister. "We have to catch up with him." Eevee said to her sister. Sylveon nodded. They began to run after him. Mid run, Eevee asked Sylveon a question. "If he ran straight, then where is he going?" she asked. This went through Sylveon's mind. If Shadow went south, then that would mean…

"He's heading towards the village," Sylveon answered her. "Something must be wrong." They kept on running through the forest, passing trees along the way, just to find the golden Riolu that sped off into the distance. "I wonder what's going on?" Sylveon wondered. "No one is left in the village. Except for…" She stopped mid run. Eevee looked back to her sister and stopped running as well. Sylveon had a scared look on her face. Eevee began to worry.

"I thought you told me that everyone went out to search," Eevee said nervously. She had a feeling why Sylveon was worried. The fact that her sister hinted that some were left behind, she knew which ones were left in the village. "Don't tell me… all three of them stayed behind." Sylveon, sincerely but unfortunately, nodded in response. Eevee gasped. "Yes," her sister said. "Fennekin, Monferno, and Electrike were left behind…"

Then they both became worried. The sisters knew what Monferno and Electrike have been doing, and they have tried to stop it, but most of the time it was to no avail. "Fennekin was forced to stay in the village after her 'history.' And then Monferno and Electrike willingly volunteered. I said to Tyrantrum to have Fennekin to come with us, but he absolutely did not want her to come. I tried Eevee, I really tried. But if I got into an argument with Tyrantrum, I wouldn't be here now."

Eevee knew she was right. Tyrantrum is a very powerful pokemon. Despite the type advantage Sylveon possesses, he would still pack quite a punch. However, the reason they got into fights with Tyrantrum was because of Fennekin. True, sometimes she wasn't always doing the right thing, but she was still a good friend. And she would be bullied by Monferno and Electrike. No matter how hard Sylveon and Eevee tried, Tyrantrum refused to do anything about it. "We have to go back to the village then!" Eevee stated. "If Shadow heard a voice, then it must've been Fennekin! She could be in danger from Monferno and Electrike! Or worse, they could hurt Shadow!" Sylveon agreed with her sister. And the two ran off through the forest, silently hoping that the golden Riolu had decided to slow down.

* * *

Well, she was definitely going home in more pain. Heck, she probably wouldn't be accepted in her household any longer. Not what after happened today. Why did life have to be this way? It felt like she had all the bad luck in the world. Fennekin didn't mean to knock over the Emerald Shrine. She didn't mean to play through one of the village's fields. All Fennekin wanted to do was explore. She wanted to know what's out there. What is beyond the Emerald Village? What's beyond the Gem Continent. So much. So much mystery and wonder was out there. And Fennekin wanted to discover it all.

Though she wouldn't be able to do that now, would she? If felt like whenever she wanted to follow her dreams, the village got in the way. Whether it was Monferno and Electrike or Tyrantrum or her parents, something always got in the way. She wanted to leave. She needed to leave. One day Fennekin will. But now she has to deal with a whole different ballpark.

"What's the matter?" Monferno yelled sarcastically at her. Fennekin drifted out of her thoughts. "Are you scared? Just like you're scared of everything else?!" "I am not scared!" she yelled at them. Though Monferno begged to differ, because he could notice her trembling in fear. "If you're not afraid, them come and fight us!" Electrike shouted.

Fennekin couldn't fight, no matter how hard she could try at that moment. With a slight head injury, not to mention she was tired from att that running, there was no way she could take down both of them. Fennekin would just have to face it herself. That's what she had always done. No one had stood up for her in the past, except Eevee. But Eevee was just about as strong as she was, and there was no Eevee now to help her get out of this situation.

She looked down to the ground in shame. Monferno smiles with delight. "Alright," he said. "Suit yourself!" Fennekin closed her eyes as her head was pointed to the ground. She waited for the oncoming pain. Monferno began to charge up one of his moves. Fennekin knew what he was going to use. Mach Punch. Even if she could fight, there was no way she could dodge that. The fire monkey pulled his arm back, and began to swing towards the fox. _Arceus please just let it be over,_ Fennekin silently pleaded.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Monferno cries out as he swung out. But at the same time, a loud rustling of wind reached Fennekin's ears. She felt the wind fly right in front of her face. Perhaps it was from Monferno's Mach Punch. If that was the case, then wouldn't she have felt the pain by now? This time, she felt nothing. Did Monferno miss? No that's impossible. Mach Punch never misses. Thinking with disbelief, she opened her eyes. They were met with shock. On the ground in front of her was a shadow of a Pokémon. "What?!" shouted a shocked Monferno's voice. "This can't be!" "How was he able to do that?!" Electrike said, who was stunned by the situation. "He just blocked it!" _Who blocked what?_ Fennekin wondered. Then, after her fear calmed down, just like electric cables, everything began to connect. The brush of wind, no pain, the shadow, and the two pokemon's shocked tone in their voice.

Someone had run in front of her and protected her from the oncoming attack. Someone who had to be _very fast._ Who protected her? And why? Mostly everyone hated her. It couldn't have been Eevee, because Monferno wouldn't be shocked as he was right now. Then who was he? More rather, who is he, because he's still standing here now. At that moment, she decided to look up to see who her savior was. Her eyes were met with the same amount of shock as Monferno and Electrike.

Standing right in front of her was no ordinary pokemon from the village. It was a Riolu. A golden Riolu. _A shiny,_ she thought. Not only that, but it was holding a bone made out of aura! _Bone Rush!_ She thought. _Riolu can't learn that!_ And yet, here was a Riolu, right in front of her, not to mention was a _shiny_ pokemon, and knew Bone Rush! Fennekin's luck must have skyrocketed that day. Then, as if her day couldn't get any luckier, he spoke three words, the most wonderful words she wanted to hear all in her life.

"Leave her alone!"

* * *

Shadow ran. He ran through the forest and began picking up speed. Trees began to blur past him. The wind blew in his face. He liked this feeling, he liked going as fast as he could. Though, he didn't want to travel at the speed of sound, for fearing that would cause another problem for him, so he kept his speed in check. But he was fast enough to leave Sylveon and Eevee behind in his dust.

He felt bad for doing this. But if Shadow didn't leave them behind, the voice that he heard could be in even more trouble. For that matter, how was he able to tell that pokemon were in trouble? It was the same thing with Eevee. She was very far away from where he crash landed, and yet he was able to hear her voice as crystal clear as it could get. Maybe he just had good hearing? Who knows? Yet again another thing he would have to find out someday.

Shadow didn't know how far he had sped ahead of Sylveon and Eevee. But he knew it must have been far. Ahead of him, the trees were beginning to clear away. An opening in the forest. From there he saw structures. Houses. _That must be the village,_ he thought. As he got closer, he was able to make out the layout of it. He could see the small pond that he saw from the cliff. Now it was larger than he saw. The houses were in a circle-like formation surrounding a stone pillar.

Correction. A _broken_ stone pillar. What the heck had happened? When Shadow first saw the village, the stone pillar was perfectly intact. Now it was completely demolished? How did something like that go from perfect to destroyed in that amount of time? Then, he began to make out figures next to the pillar. One was orange and white colored monkey with a flame on its tail. The second looked like a green dog with a pointed snout and yellow lightning bolt markings. The last one was a yellow and orange fox. The yellow fox was cornered by the fire monkey and the green dog. It looked like it was backed up against the pillar.

Then, the fire monkey looked like it was ready to throw a punch at the fox! Shadow could not let this happen. And with that, he began to run again. As he was doing this, he put his paws together. When he pulled them apart, a glowing bone appeared again. _Bone Rush,_ he thought. Shadow was filled with a burning passion to stop this.

He ran as fast as he could. Everything began to blur around him. The trees felt like they flew away from Shadow as he entered the clearing. He could see the punch coming down on the fox. At the last moment, he ran in front of the yellow fox and held out the bone to block the incoming punch. "Ahhhhhhh!" the fire monkey cried out. The punch landed. But it didn't hit its primary target. It hit Shadow's Bone Rush.

Monferno felt a taste of satisfaction as he felt he hit something. He had hit Fennekin! And no one was around except for Electrike on his left. He had his eyes closed so he could feel this feeling of hitting someone entirely. Of course, he had hit someone before, but he wanted to try it this way. Then, Monferno opened his eyes. They were met with shock.

Standing in front of him was someone who had just stopped his Mach Punch. It was a Riolu. A golden Riolu. _A shiny,_ Monferno thought. It was extremely rare to see a shiny pokemon. But that wasn't the only thing that shocked him. It was the fact that this Riolu stopped the Mach Punch. With Bone Rush! And it was so fast! Mach Punch should've hit Fennekin before he got there! And yet here he was. A Riolu staring at Monferno with determined, fiery red eyes. "What?!" shouted a shocked Monferno. "This can't be!" Monferno was shocked beyond belief. How can this be? "How was he able to do that!?" Electrike said, stunned by the situation. "He just blocked it!"

"Leave her alone!" Shadow shouted at them. This snapped all three pokemon back to reality. Shadow just thought about what he just said. Why is he defending someone he didn't even know? It felt like it was the right thing to do. But then again, he threw himself into a fray, just to save someone. Surely he hasn't done this before? Shadow couldn't recall anything.

Monferno was surprised by what this Riolu said. He was defending this idiot? Hah. Like he was gonna give up on this. "And why should I?" he asked. "Yeah! Why should we?" Electrike echoed his answer. "Because what she did was an accident and you know it," Shadow said calmly. He didn't want to get into a fight, but if he had to, he would. He looked up to the fire monkey, who was a 4-5 inches taller than him. Shadow could fight him, just like he did Weavile, but this time around, it wouldn't be so easy. He still held his ground and would not let these two hurt this fox.

"You don't even know what happened!" Monferno yelled. "You weren't there! There I saw with my own eyes! Fennekin knocked over the Emerald Shrine on purpose!" Fennekin. So that was her name. "Did she?" Shadow inquired. "Or did she perhaps run into the shrine on accident, while being chased by you two!" Fennekin was shocked. She had never seen this Riolu before and yet he knew what happened and was willing to help her out? If someone had seen that event happen, they would blame her instead of Monferno and Electrike. Fennekin was a bit nervous at first, but then asked the Riolu a question.

"How… how do you know that?" she asked him. Shadow turned his head. He saw her worried look. He was only assuming that had happen, and Shadow didn't expect to be right. Good, lucky guess apparently. Now that he was up close to her, he finally got a better view of Fennekin. She was a yellow fox with orange markings. Her eyes were a bright orange. But that look remained. It was still shocked by the information that Shadow had just got a lucky guess on when he heard her yell out.

"I have my ways," Shadow answered. He wanted to say he heard her, but at the same time, he didn't. That would reveal a lot of things. But then again, she wouldn't probably believe him. I mean come on, Shadow had heard her from like a mile or two away? He can run faster than the speed of sound? Not possible. But it is for him. Shadow then turned back to the two pokemon still staring at him with angry looks in their eyes. "I suggest you leave," he said to them calmly. "Unless you want to fight," "What makes you think you can beat us?" Monferno said angrily. "You're not strong! You're just a _kid!"_

Shadow growled at the insult. He hated being called that. He is strong. Shadow defeated the Weavile Gang with one Aura Sphere. He knew he wasn't just a kid. But… he couldn't let this insult get to him. Shadow has to control himself. At the sound of this, the three pokemon noticed something odd about the golden Riolu. _His fur was glowing._ A bright light was emanating from his fur. Fennekin was astonished by this. When this light reached her, it felt like all of her fears and worries had disappeared from her heart.

Monferno knew what what to say for this. "Hah! Is that all you got, _GlowStick!"_

GlowStick?! GLOWSTICK!? Oh, now Shadow hated that even more than calling him a kid. He growled in anger. "What did you just call me?" he said without any tone of voice. "You heard what he called you!" Electrike answered. "A useless glowstick that'll burn out in a few minutes!" Shadow was fuming with anger. He wanted to fight them. He wanted to hit them so hard that they would land on the other side of the world. But he just… couldn't. _Give them a chance,_ a voice said in the back of his head. His eyes widened as he heard the voice. _Why should I?_ He thought. _These two tried to beat up Fennekin and are making fun of me. What do I do?_

His heart knew what to do. He had to let it slide. If he had let his anger go, who knows how much destruction he could cause in that one moment. Shadow needed to let it go. There was no other way. He then focused his attention on the two pokemon. They were laughing at him! His eyes widened. For the first time, as far as he could remember, Shadow felt humiliated. He held his head down in defeat. Then he raised it up and spoke.

"Just go before you cause any more harm," he said to them, devoid of tone like before. Monferno and Electrike looked at him. Their laughter was gone. What was left was surprise. This Riolu wanted them gone. Truth be told, they'd had their fun today. WIth that, they got up from the ground and began to stalk off. But before they truly left the area, they stopped. Monferno turned back to Shadow.

"Fine, you win," he answered him. "But, mark my words, one day we'll come and find you. Same goes for you Fennekin! Glowstick may have saved you, but he won't save you next time! Hahahaha!" The two began to laugh as they walked away. But before that, when Shadow's back was turned to Fennekin, Monferno picked up a rock and threw it at Shadow. For some odd reason, Shadow sensed it was coming, and used Bone Rush to slice the rock in half. When he turned around to see the culprits, they were gone from sight.

Shadow felt a little bit relieved after they left. But now, he felt something...different. After his encounter with those two, Shadow just felt… ashamed. And it was all because of his fur glowing. Was he a freak? Was he just a science experiment? No. He wasn't a science experiment. Was he? However, he mustn't let that get to him right now. There were more things that are important now. For all he knew, there was nothing left in his brain right now of his past. Shadow would have to figure that out later. Now, he had to focus on the pokemon next to him. Of course, Shadow would have to put on the, "those words didn't affect me," kind of tone, even though they did.

He sighed. Then he turned to Fennekin. "Are you alright?" he asked. Shadow expected an answer like, "I'm ok," or "Not really, I'm hurting," but instead he got a completely unexpected answer. "Don't let their words get to you," Fennekin answered him. Shadow was shocked by this. Why would she answer this? "And thank you," she said to his shocked eyes. "No one's ever done that for me."

Shadow was surprised. No one had ever stood up for her? "Why?" he asked. "What they were doing to you was wrong." "I know," she answered him. "That's just… not how the village works. I mean there's Eevee, but…" "Eevee?" he asked. Fennekin knew Eevee? Well she must because Fennekin lived in the village. "You know Eevee?" he inquired. "Yes, but she's lost," she answered him. "Wait… how do you know…"

"Shadow!" a young voice called. Shadow turned his head back to the trees. There, next to the trees, was Sylveon and Eevee. Both of them were panting and sweating from the run. Shadow felt relieved that they were alright, and at the same time embarrassed. He had ran ahead of them and left them behind. But he was glad that they were safe. Shadow ran at a faster speed and came right up to Sylveon. Fennekin watched in amazement as he went supersonic fast and appeared right next to the pink and white pokemon. Her eyes then turned to Eevee. "Eevee! You're safe!" she cried out in joy. She ran up to her best friend. Then, Shadow spoke.

"I'm sorry for leaving both of you behind," he apologized. "I just, heard this voice crying out and I had to do something." Fennekin was surprised by this. The Riolu...wait his name was Shadow? Huh, how ironic. But she knew that she mustn't say anything about it. Anyway, Shadow had heard her from a long distance? That was incredible.

"It's alright," Sylveon answered. "We forgive you." Eevee nodded to her sister's reply. "I have a theory why you were able to hear Fennekin's voice, and Eevee's voice earlier as well." He had heard Eevee's voice too? She was surprised by this. "Riolu and it's evolution Lucario are able to detect aura. With this ability, they can sense emotions and feelings, and sometimes, maybe even voices, of pokemon." _Aura. Aura._ Shadow had heard that word before. But when, and where? He was beginning to have a slight headache, but he didn't notice it. "Sylveon?" he asked. She turned to him. "Yes?" she answered. " _What is Aura?"_ His eyes widened at his statement. He had said this before. He said this exact question before. The headache was getting worse and worse. Shadow began to notice this.

" _A_ _ **u**_ _r_ _ **a**_ _i_ _ **s**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _e_ _ **l**_ _i_ _ **f**_ _e_ _**f**_ _o_ _ **r**_ _c_ _ **e**_ _t_ _ **h**_ _a_ _ **t**_ _i_ _ **s**_ _f_ _ **o**_ _u_ _ **n**_ _d_ _i_ _ **n**_ _e_ _ **v**_ _e_ _ **r**_ _y_ _ **b**_ _e_ _ **i**_ _n_ _ **g**_ _,"_ Sylveon's voice began to echo in his head, along with a voice he didn't recognized. They seemed to be in perfect harmony, combining with one another. The headache was becoming pain splitting and Shadow felt like he was going to fall apart. He began to sway back and forth, trying to keep balance. But it was no use. Shadow collapsed to the ground. The three pokemon gasped. "Shadow!" they cried out. He held his head in one of his paws, trying to calm down the agonizing pain that was coursing through his head.

"What's going on?" Fennekin asked him. She was worried about him. Why was he acting this way. "I...don't… know…" he said in a shaky voice. His world was becoming darker and darker every second. At last, the arm that was holding his upper half up lost its strength and the rest of his body fell to the ground. Shadow tried to find the strength to keep his eyes open, but it was to no avail. His eyes began to close and his world was dark around him.

* * *

 _A few days after Shadow's "death"..._

Somewhere across time and space, seven gems were scattered across their world. They glowed the colors of green, blue, red, yellow, purple, silver, and cyan. They were gems of magnificent power. And now Rouge was on the trail of one of them. She had gotten an energy signal from G.U.N. coming from an unknown location. Mystic Jungle. So she headed out there to find it before a certain blue hedgehog got get his hands on it.

Rouge had been searching for hours on end just to find it. She had been walking, or mostly rather flying, around the jungle for the Chaos Emerald. After the incident with Eggman (she did not want to recall it in any way, shape, or form) all of the Emeralds were scattered when Sonic went super. Of course, the Doctor would probably be after them again, so everyone was basically running around again scrambling to find the jewels. Well Rouge wasn't, she had her work cut out for her.

Suddenly, a shimmering glow caught her attention. A _red_ shimmering glow. This interested her. She flew down to the ground to see where the source was coming from. And indeed she had found it. "Ahh," she said in excitement. Under a small bush was the ruby red Chaos Emerald. For one thing she was glad she had found it, but for another thing, Rouge wasn't happy with the one she had found.

This was the emerald that _Shadow_ was mostly attached to. Everywhere he went, he always carried this specific emerald. Rouge didn't know why. Or rather, she didn't want to ask him anyway. Rouge probably wouldn't get an answer until she tried to force it out of him. But now, she can't ask him. He's gone. And this time, he isn't coming back. "Well," she said to herself. "It's better than none." Rouge reached out to grab the Emerald when something strange happened.

The emerald began flashing its ruby color rapidly. She gasped. Rouge became shocked by this. She stepped away from it in fear and interest. The emerald was still flashing its color, faster and faster than before. Then finally, it held a solid red glow for about a minute. Rouge decided to get closer to it, now that it seemed to hold its glow. But then, as she reached out towards it, something strange happened. The glow faded from the emerald.

"What?" she exclaimed in shock. Rouge then picked up the emerald. She examined it and tried to see if any sort of power could come from it anymore. She was met with the same answer. Nothing came the gem. It was now just a plain old red rock, still in its shape. Rouge was surprised by this. When an emerald stops it's glow, then that means it's lost its energy. But why did it happen to this specific emerald? Was it Shadow? Rouge would have to find out. Perhaps Sonic and Tails would know about this. She decided it was best to go to them.

Rouge was about to fly out of Mystic Jungle when she heard something. It was a voice. She turned around looking for its speaker, but no one was there. Then she heard something strange.

 _Seven shall rise,_

 _And seven shall fall…_

She heard nothing else. Maybe it was something in the wind. No. Rouge knew someone had spoke to her. But then who did? It didn't sound anyone she knew. The she realized that she couldn't worry about this now. There were other matters. Rouge would to go back to G.U.N. to report her findings. Or… she could just go to Sonic. Heck, what is G.U.N. gonna do about a powerless emerald?

Having her mind made up, she flew into the air and left the jungle behind. Flying threw the sky, Rouge began to make a journey to Tail's Workshop. If she had to describe the situation she was in, Rouge would say this: "This day is getting weirder and weirder by the minute."

* * *

 **Author's Endnote**

 **Yee! That's the end of Chapter 4. Ok now for some info!**

 **To be honest, besides from the last scene with Rouge, this was a hard chapter to write. Honestly it was. I mean, I wanted it to lead up to a fight with Monferno and Shadow, I just didn't know how to execute it properly. It took me a while to try and decide a scenario for when the two would meet and fight. Well, it wasn't really a fight. More like a standoff. But you know what I mean.**

 **Speaking of which, I found that some of the newer characters were hard to write about as well. I mean yeah, Monferno and Electrike are suppose to be bullies, but I wanted to try to pull away from the attributes of Pancham and Shelmet in SMD. When choosing these two for the roles, at first I wanted it to be a different pokemon type in general, other than a fighting type. But then I decided on Monferno because of size factor, power and attitude. Monferno is sort of a hot head, with his temper out of control, and Electrike is the smarter one of the bunch. Also, because they are a bit, "darker," per say, it'll take more than Shadow's fur glowing to change them.**

 **I have to admit the same thing for Fennekin here as well. Yes indeed, she is the partner. Like I said before, not a love story, more for friendship. Again, there is a reason I chose her. Writing about her was kinda difficult as well. Getting into someone's personality is hard. Especially when you're just introducing one as well. She may be kinda scared of things for now, but that's just the way the village has been on her. When Fennekin said that life there was getting worse and worse as time went by, she is right, and there is a reason for that. I just won't tell you now, that's all.**

 **Next, I want to talk about Sonic's world in this. The Chaos Emeralds do have a place in this story. Of course all will be revealed in time. Sonic and friends will probably come back for a bit again in the next chapter, so you can expect that as well.**

 **Now for some random stuff. The stone pillar shrine that is, or was since it's destroyed, is actually based off of Sky Pillar in RSE. I use a ton of references in this story. Also Mystic Jungle appeared too. No, that doesn't mean this'll tie into Forces, that was just the first random location in the Sonic verse that came into my mind. Oh and Dialga does speak in this chapter. He reveals part of the prophecy. I have reasons for not saying the whole thing, but I just thought it would be interesting for Rouge to learn part of it too. Also the emerald didn't go out because of Shadow collapsing. It's something else, rest assured.**

 **Last, tell me what you guys think about this. I love all of your reviews! Not only does it help me with motivation, it also gives me ideas to implement into this story. Again thank you guys so much. I intended for this to come out earlier, but as I have said, it was difficult to write because of a loss in ideas. I wanted to get this chapter out today cause most of my favorites were updated and I'm like, "I need to update too!" Rest assured, I am not giving up on this beast and I will not rest until this behemoth of a story is done. Also don't worry, I have an idea for the next chapter.**

 **School's ending for summer in 5 days! Yee! Summer's coming!**

 **Anyways, until next time, See Ya Universe!**

 **-Palkia**


	6. Ch5 Light Over Gems

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! We are back with Chapter 5! But first, let's get into some stuff…**

 **Infinite's Ruby: Aww thanks dude. To be honest, I kinda wanted a little rivalry to happen between Monferno and Shadow, and what better way than nicknames! Originally I was going to go with having the nickname be Flashlight, but I thought Glowstick better. Glad that made you laugh dude!**

 **Now for chapter 5. Expect some interactions in the Pokémon world and Sonic's world as well (I mean that we're gonna see what's going on in both) Here we go! (Off the rails, don't you know it's time to raise our sails XD)**

 **I do not own Pokémon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 5**

 **Light Over Gems**

"No, no, absolutely no!" roared his voice. "We are not letting him stay here!" "But Tyrantrum," Sylveon pleaded. "He's only a kid! What harm can he do?" "How about someone who defended the Pokémon who destroyed our sacred shrine?" He inquired. "It was an accident!" Fennekin yelled. "Monferno and Electrike chased me into the pillar!" The room was filled with chaos over the unconscious, peacefully sleeping golden Riolu.

* * *

 _ **Flashback**_

All of the village Pokémon had returned from their search for Eevee. Only to return to destruction. The Emerald Shrine to Rayquaza was in ruins, and three Pokémon were sitting around an unconscious Pokémon. One was Sylveon, one was Fennekin, the troublemaker, as Tyrantrum called, and the missing Pokémon Eevee. Though, Monferno and Electrike were nowhere near in sight.

"What is the meaning of this?!" He roared at them. "I come back from searching for your sister, only to find her here, and the shrine is in ruins? What have you done!? Explain this instant!" "Please Tyrantrum," Fennekin said. "It wasn't his fault!" "Whose fault?" he asked. "Why are you standing around?"

With his question, the three pokemon departed from the fallen Riolu so Tyrantrum could see. When he was able to see who it was, he gasped. It was a Riolu. A golden Riolu. _A shiny,_ he thought. Tyrantrum was surprised by this. He knew that shiny pokemon were rare, but he had never seen one on the Gem Continent. And Riolu weren't native to here anyway. How did he end up this way? Where did he come from? How did he get here? There were many questions going through his mind at the moment.

"Who is he?" he asked. Sylveon didn't know how to answer this. Would she tell him the truth? Though, would Tyrantrum really believe her? A Riolu fell from the sky. Nope, definitely not believable. But would she lie to Tyrantrum? If he does find out the truth, she would in trouble for sure. Is Tyrantrum ever going to find out anyway? Not if she, along with Eevee, Fennekin, and of course, Shadow, whenever he wakes up, kept his secret well hidden enough. Though, it would be hard, because of the fact that Shadow has no memory, but they could make it work, for now at least.

"This is… Shadow," Sylveon finally said. _Ironic,_ Tyrantrum thought. "I… found him unconscious while searching for Eevee." Lie. "He helped me find her in Mist Forest." Truth. "Shadow rescued us from the spirits." Semi-truth, because she left out Weavile's gang. "We got back here and we found Monferno and Electrike beating up Fennekin and the destroyed shrine." Lie. "Shadow defended her, and for some reason, he fell unconscious." Truth.

Fennekin and Eevee knew she was lying. Eevee knew why, but Fennekin didn't. Sylveon was trying to keep Shadow's identity a secret, and they would help her out in that. However, Fennekin wondered who Shadow was. All she knew was that he ran into the village at supersonic speeds and he defended her from Monferno and Electrike. _I hope he's alright,_ she silently thought.

"Is this true?" Tyrantrum asked Eevee and Fennekin. "Yes," they answered in unison. "It is true." "Hmm," he wondered. "Very well, bring him into my home. There's a medical area in there where Altaria and Skitty can look at him and see what's wrong." Altaria was the village healer. She was able to treat anything. It was her who was taking care of Vaporeon and suggested that he needed Oran Berries. If there was anything wrong with Shadow, Altaria could fix it. Skitty was Altaria's apprentice. She was a very smart pokemon, and she was willing to learn about medical skills and healing properties. Skitty could definitely help Altaria if there was a problem.

With that, they picked up Shadow and brought him into Tyrantrum's house. It was a fairly large house, the largest in the village. Well, he is the village elder, so he deserved the utmost respect. The interior had 4 or 5 rooms. There was one where Tyrantrum slept, a dining hall, in which the entire village ate at during special occasions, two medical rooms, and a room in which it held the village's storage. They carried the golden Riolu into the medical room, the one that was not being used. The other one was being used by…

 _Vaporeon!_ Eevee thought. She had forgotten that he was moved into the room because his illness was getting worse. Now Eevee could give him the cure! Oh she felt so happy! "Tyrantrum," she asked. He turned around. "If I may be excused, I have something I wish to give to my brother." "Alright," he answered her. "You may go." "Thank you," she replied, and Eevee dashed into the other room.

Sylveon and Fennekin helped carry Shadow into the unoccupied room. There wasn't much in there, except for a small bed. They set him down in the bed. At that, they were relieved. Shadow would be well cared for here. "Sylveon!" a voice called. Fennekin and Sylveon turned their head towards the door. There, at the door, was a blue and white, bird-like pokemon. There were two ribbon like appendages coming from her head. Her wings looked like cotton. Next to her was a small, pink and yellow, cat-like pokemon. It was Altaria and Skitty.

"Hello Altaria, hello Skitty!" Fennekin replied. "How are you?" "We're alright," Skitty said to her. "We just got finished looking at Vaporeon." "How is he?" asked a worried Sylveon. She was clearly worried about her brother. "He is doing better," Altaria reassured her. "In fact, I just saw Eevee coming in as we were going out. Was she carrying what I think she was carrying?" "Yes actually," Sylveon replied. "We were able to get some Oran Berries." "How?" asked Skitty.

"Well… it's a long story," Sylveon said. "Could you come in and look at him?" She gestured a paw to the unconscious Riolu laying on the bed of straw. "Oh my," Altaria said in surprise. "Tyrantrum said there was an injured pokemon with you, but this is both incredible and mysterious." "What do you mean?" asked Fennekin. What did Altaria mean by incredible and mysterious? "First of all, it is very rare to see a shiny pokemon," Skitty explained. "Not to mention it's a shiny Riolu. Riolu aren't native to the Gem Continent. How and where did you find him?"

"Uhh," Sylveon began. "What's wrong?" asked Altaria. Sylveon must be keeping something secret. She wouldn't be acting like this if she wasn't. "Skitty," she started. "Could you close that door? I don't want anyone to hear this." "Umm ok?" Skitty answered. Fennekin had an idea what was going on. Though, at the same time, she didn't know what was happening. She assumed that Sylveon was going to talk about Shadow, however Fennekin lacked knowledge about the golden Riolu. Perhaps this is where she finds out.

"What's going on?" Altaria asked. Sylveon sighed. "I don't anyone to hear this," she said. "Especially Tyrantrum." "But why?" asked Skitty. "Wouldn't it be best if he knew?" "I don't know," Sylveon answered. "You wish to know how I found him?" The three pokemon looked at each other in surprise. This must be serious if Sylveon is doing this. Then, they nodded in understanding. "You must promise not to tell a soul about this information, and we'll let him know when he wakes up." "We promise," they said in unison. Fennekin was a bit nervous by this, however. It's really serious if Sylveon is having them promise. "I'll tell you then." she answered.

"He fell from the sky…"

"WHAT?" the three pokemon tried not to say out loud. How could something like this be true? They all something fall from the sky, but that was miles and miles away from the village, over by Ruby Mountain. Ruby Mountain, that's why Sylveon didn't say anything. She didn't want Tyrantrum to find out that Shadow had trespassed there without his knowledge. Although, the story sounded like it was made up.

"I know it may not sound true but…" Sylveon trailed off. She then realized that she was saying the exact words that Shadow had said earlier. But even if they didn't believe it, Sylveon found herself pouring out all the information, all of it, everything that happened with Shadow, everything that had transpired that day. She told of them meeting, of how they had found Eevee, how Shadow defeated the Weavile gang with an Aura Sphere of all things. The three pokemon stood there in awe and wonder, their eyes widening at the miraculous things the Riolu had done and was able to do, nodding their heads as they understood everything Sylveon said down to the wire. She then spoke of the encounter with Fennekin, and how he had passed out. Though, she left out one detail.

"Wow," Skitty answered as Sylveon finished the story. "That's amazing! But, do you have any idea how exactly he got like this?" "I don't know," Sylveon said. "Maybe he was exhausted, or perhaps…" Sylveon trailed off again. "Perhaps what?" asked Fennekin. She was confused. Is something wrong with him? "Amnesia." she answered her. The three pokemon gasped. Shadow has amnesia? How was that possible? So he fell from the sky, is from a different world, isn't even a pokemon to begin with, and has amnesia? This seemed hard to believe. Though, then again, it began to make sense. Perhaps the fall caused his amnesia. If he said that he was from another world, then where? If he didn't used to be a human, then what was he originally?

Then, Skitty and Altaria went over to the unconscious Riolu. Sylveon and Fennekin looked at each other with questioning looks, each wondering what the pair of pokemon were beginning to do. Skitty reached for Shadow's forehead and felt it. "No fever," she said to Altaria. The Humming pokemon was examining Shadow's arms and legs. "Nothing appears to be broken either." she answered. "Though, he does have some slight burn marks on his fur. We'll have to bandage those up. Skitty, do you mind getting some bandages and putting them on his burns?" The pink cat nodded and ran out of the room.

Altaria then turned to Sylveon. "Do you think those burned marks we're caused by him falling from the sky?" she asked her. "Probably," Sylveon answered. "When I found him, his fur was burned like that." "If he was attacked by a fire type, the burns would have been worse," Altaria concluded. "You said he battled Weavile and Sneasel yes?" Sylveon nodded her head. Skitty had just come back with the bandages and began putting them on Shadow's body. Then Altaria turned to Fennekin. "Did Monferno unleash any fire type moves on him?" Fennekin shook her head. "No," she answered. "The only attack that Monferno used was Mach Punch, which was intended for me, but it was blocked by his Bone Rush."

Even though Skitty was administering the bandages, she still listened to Fennekin's story. It's not normal for Riolu to know Bone Rush either. She wondered how he learned it. Skitty also wondered where he got his bright, ruby red bow. Though, Skitty knew she couldn't ask him. Not with his amnesia. She felt bad for the golden Riolu. Amnesia could take weeks to get rid of and finally get your memory back. Maybe even months. Or worse, _years._ Or not even at all. Memories are strange. Who knows when Shadow will remember who he is and where he came from. He might not remember at all. She felt bad for him. Not knowing who you are must be the loneliest thing in the world.

When Fennekin finished, Altaria walked over to Skitty. "How's it going?" she asked her. Skitty turned to her. "He has burns on his chest area, his arms, legs, and his back. The ones on the front of his body aren't as bad. The back ones are a bit worse. Maybe when he was falling most of the heat went to his back because he was falling head first." "Are there any on his head?" Altaria asked. "A little bit," Skitty added. "However mostly they are not severe. I put bandages on his chest, arms, legs and back. I left his head alone. Those should heal first. And if I did put some on his head, he wouldn't be able to see though the bandages!" She smiled at the statement.

"So do you know what's wrong with him?" asked Fennekin. Altaria and Skitty turned to her. "He doesn't have any illness," Altaria said. "And his bones aren't broken or sprained," Skitty said. "We just think it's exhaustion," Altaria answered. "And those burns don't help him either. He probably collapsed because he overexerted himself. Fighting against Weavile and Sneasel, not to mention Monferno, and the fact that he's been running around at high speeds, no wonder he collapsed. Other than the slight burns caused from him falling from the sky, there is nothing wrong with him. He just needs rest."

"What about his amnesia?" asked Sylveon. The sooner he gets his memory back, the better. Shadow would probably want to go home and see his family. Who knows what could be happening now. "Well," Skitty answered. "We can't really 'attend' to his amnesia. Basically we can't do anything about it. Altaria and I can't fix his brain. Unfortunately."

The room was filled with silence. All four of the Pokémon felt sadness within themselves. Shadow would have to get his memory back himself. Or, he may never get it back. They all silently hoped that one day, the Riolu would get his memory back. And perhaps, he would be able to return home.

It was at this moment, Fennekin began to speak. "Do you know how long he will be unconscious for?" she asked. "Do you know when he'll wake up?" There was concern in her voice. Skitty was surprised by this. How could Fennekin show concern for someone she just met. Something must of happened to make her feel this way. "I can say that he's looking better than he did before," Skitty replied. "He should wake up within an hour or two." Fennekin sighed with relief. Shadow will be okay. He'll wake up soon.

"If you don't mind," Sylveon began to say. " I'm going to talk to Tyrantrum about this. Shadow has no place to stay, and I was hoping Tyrantrum would let him stay in the village." She knew that this was going to be tough. Outsiders weren't really welcome in the village. Convincing Tyrantrum for an outsider to stay? Good luck, have fun. Like he would ever change his mind.

"I'll...come with you Sylveon," Fennekin said. "I need to talk to Tyrantrum… about my punishment this time." she added sadly. The fox Pokémon's ears were hanging low and her head was towards the ground in sadness. "It's okay Fennekin," Sylveon answered her. "It was an accident. I'll try to get you out of your punishment. Maybe we can get Monferno and Electrike as substitutes instead." At this, Fennekin tilted her head up and smiled at her. "Thanks Sylveon, I really appreciate it."

Skitty and Altaria were happy at this. Sylveon was like an older sibling and at the same time, she was like a second mother. She helped Fennekin out with situations that her own mother couldn't help her with. It wasn't like Delphox loved her daughter, she was just hard on Fennekin sometimes. Sylveon, however, was more caring and compassionate towards the young fire type Pokémon.

The two walked out of the medical room with passion in their eyes. The passion they had wasn't as strong as Shadow's, as they were still a bit fearful about Tyrantrum, but they still had the courage to face the village elder. They gave one last glance to the Pokémon who were tending to the Riolu, and then exited, the door closing behind them. Altaria and Skitty glanced at each other. They were both thinking the same thing. "I hope everything goes well for them," Altaria said. "I know," Skitty answered. " I want Shadow to stay as much as you do. I would like to meet him when he wakes up. Who knows what kind of personality he has."

A few minutes passed. They went back to their work. Skitty grabbed some more of the bandages that she had brought in from the other room. "I'm going to replace the bandages on his chest," she said to Altaria. "They seem to be coming loose, and it looks like they need to be changed anyway. If that's alright with you." "Sure go ahead," Altaria answered her. "I'll help you out with that."

As they were about to work on Shadow, a loud roar echoed through the large house. Loud enough for even Altaria and Skitty to hear through the closed door. Their eyes widened and the two Pokémon gasped. Forgetting about the injured Riolu, Altaria and Skitty ran to the door. They didn't dare to open it, lest they get a lecture from Tyrantrum for eavesdropping, so they kept the door closed and put their ears to the door. "Oh boy," Altaria said. "Something must be really going down." "That's what they get for going up against Tyrantrum," Skitty answered. "But… I admire their courage." "So do I," Altaria said back to her. "I don't think I could ever do that." "Neither could I," Skitty answered.

As they listened through the door, they paid no attention to the unconscious Riolu. If they did, they would've noticed a faint golden glow emanating from his body.

* * *

 _ **End of Flashback**_

Across time and space, an echidna stood next to the Master Emerald. Not much has happened at Angel Island in a while. But it was always good to be on alert. Knuckles knew that for a fact. Who knows who could come and steal the Emerald. It could be Eggman, or worse, Rouge the Bat. She always tries to steal the Master Emerald, which made him more annoyed every time she came to the island. Knuckles never wanted to see that bat again on his island.

But to his surprise, he hadn't seen Rouge come around the island in a while. True, he has seen her, but not on the island. This, in one way, made him happy, but at the same time, he was worried. Knuckles knew that Rouge was persistent, especially when it came to gems. But to not see her trying to take the Master Emerald made him a bit, sadly, concerned. Though, the events of the past few days have probably taken a toll on her.

No one expected Shadow to die. Not even Eggman himself. The black hedgehog was indestructible, capable of surviving massive amounts of world destroying damage. Heck, he wasn't called the Ultimate Lifeform for nothing. But to see his end by Eggman's hand was just heartbreaking, especially for Rouge. She was probably the closest to Shadow, not by love, but by friendship. Sure, there was Omega, but he is a robot. Shadow could read Rouge like a book. He could understand what she felt and what she was going through. She trusted him, and he trusted her. To see him die, who knows what Rouge is going through.

Knuckles wasn't really that close of a friend to Shadow, but they both respected each other. He was just as surprised as everyone else when he saw Shadow die. Now, he was gone. What happens now? The echidna would think that the powers of Chaos would go out of whack because the hedgehog was basically full of Chaos Energy. And yet, nothing happened. Not a single earthquake or storm shook the planet. So where that Chaos energy go? It didn't disappear. It has to go somewhere. Then where did it go? This entire situation made no sense. If Shadow was dead, the Chaos energy inside of him would have caused a disruption. There was nothing. Could that mean that Shadow is…

"Oh Knuckie!" a voice called. Knuckles was taken out of his thoughts. Rouge. _Oh great,_ he thought, and at the same time, _thank Chaos._ Though, he couldn't see Rouge from his point of view. He walked around the Master Emerald with caution. "What you want Rouge?" he said in an annoyed tone. "Geez, aren't we feisty today?" she replied. Knuckles looked up. Above him, flying in place, was the bat spy herself. She landed right in front of him. She had clearly ticked him off.

"If you think you can fly in here and steal the Master Emerald, then you're gonna…" he began but Rouge cut him off. "It's not about that," she stated. "It's about something else." "Oh yeah?" he asked in an irritated way. "What can be more important than stealing the Master…" Then his eyes widened in shock. Rouge was in front of him, with her arm outstretched towards him. In her hand was a gem. But it was no ordinary gem. She held out a Chaos Emerald. The _red_ Chaos Emerald. The one Shadow had with him almost all the time. Although at first he would be slightly interested that she found an emerald, but what really caught his attention was the fact that the emerald no longer shined.

The emerald's power was gone. Depleted. Down to nothing. He looked at the emerald, and then to Rouge, his eyes going back and forth between the two. However, there was something he noticed about the bat. Her head was down and so wear her ears. At first Knuckles would have scolded her that she got rid of the emerald's energy, but something inside of him told him that Rouge hadn't done a thing to it. The way she looked, her head down, same with her ears, she was in shame and in sadness. If felt weird to see her like this.

Then it hit him. This was _Shadow's_ Chaos Emerald. The one that he always had on him. Rouge must have been looking for it, so she could be reminded of him. To have seen it gone out, that must have crushed her heart. Knuckles then felt ashamed for yelling at he. She didn't come here to steal. Rouge came here with this.

"I… uh.." he began. Rouge looked up at him. Knuckles was having a hard time at this. He wasn't really good at apologizing. "I'm sorry for yelling. I just attack first, ask questions later." Her eyes widened. She knew that he sensed her grief. A smile crept upon her face. "It's alright Knuckie," Rouge said. "I accept your apology." Knuckles sighed in relief. He then looked at the emerald. The bat relaxed a bit. Her arm relaxed as well, but she still held the emerald in her hand.

"Do you know what happened?" he asked. Rouge sighed. "I don't know," she answered. "I had gotten a reading from G.U.N. that an emerald was somewhere in Mystic Jungle. I wanted to check it out, so I went. Only to find the gem flashing." "Flashing?" Knuckles questioned her. "Yes," she answered. "When I reached out to grab it, the light dissipated, and well, here's all that's left." Her eyes focused on the powerless gem in her hand.

"I was heading to Tails' Workshop to see if he could do anything about this," she stated. "Then I thought you would know something, so I stopped by on the way there." "No, I don't know anything about this," Knuckles answered. "If I did, the Master Emerald would've acted up or at least shown me. But nothing has happened here for a while." He sighed. Perhaps he should've left the island for a bit to see what was happening to the Chaos Emeralds.

"If you want, you can come with me," Rouge said. Knuckles nodded to her. If something was happening to the Chaos Emeralds, then the Master Emerald would be involved too. He needed to find out. They had to stop this. "I'll come," he answered. "My," she said in surprise. Rouge did not expect the echidna to come. "You're growing soft aren't you Knuckie?" "I am not soft!" he yelled. This trip is going to be interesting. Though, who would guard the Master Emerald? Knuckles had an idea. "I'll have Tails come in the Tornado to pick up the Master Emerald. It might help us with this situation."

The two began to turn and leave. Rouge went ahead of Knuckles. The echidna stared back at the Master Emerald. He was just about to go when…

 _Others will try,_

 _But one will stand tall…_

He turned around frantically, expecting a being to be there. But there was nothing. "Rouge!" he called. "Did you hear that!" The bat came running back to him. "I did," she said through panting. She was tired from running. "That… was the same voice I heard earlier." "The same voice?" Knuckles asked. "It spoke to me when I was about to leave Mystic Jungle," Rouge answered. " _Seven shall rise, and seven shall fall…" "Others will try, but one will stand tall…"_ Knuckles replied to her. "What does it mean." "Who knows," Rouge said. "We won't find out standing here. We better head to Tails' Workshop." Knuckles nodded his head. With that, the two headed away from the shrine.

Had they stayed longer, they would've noticed the blue-steel dragon that no longer remained invisible in the jungle near the shrine. He watched the two run off towards Tails' Workshop. The dragon looked satisfied. He was about to leave when he said this.

 _Find the light,_

 _Protect it with all your might,_

 _Never let it out of your sight,_

 _Until the Hero of Light takes flight._

The dragon disappeared.

* * *

Darkness. That's all that Shadow saw. It was everywhere. There was nothing there. _Where am I?_ Shadow thought. _What happened to me? Why is there darkness?_ So many questions went through his head at that moment. He couldn't see anywhere. Not even himself. All that was there was darkness. Was he blind? No, he couldn't be blind. So what was this darkness? How did he get here?

Suddenly, the situation came back to him. _Sylveon. Eevee. Fennekin. Those two pokemon. Broken shrine._ And with that situation, there came a faint glow of light. Shadow could see it. The light was coming from _him._ He was able to see himself again. Though, he was still his Riolu self. _But why?_ Shadow pondered. _Why does this light exist inside of me? Why is it there? Why…_

All of his questions would go unanswered, as the light emanating from his body increased tenfold. Shadow covered his eyes, for fearing that he would be blinded by his own light. However, when he uncovered them, he wasn't blinded at all. It became brighter and brighter, and his world was surrounded by his own light. Everything was getting lighter and lighter, but before he knew it, it got dark, a loud roar was heard, and pain began shooting through his body. "Ahhhhhh!" he screamed in agony. He just wanted it to end. Shadow wanted this nightmare to end.

* * *

"Urmm," the Riolu moaned. Altaria and Skitty turned their heads away from the door to the pokemon who made that noise. Shadow is waking up! Oh, they were so relieved that he was alright. The two pokemon rushed toward the Riolu who was waking up. He was tossing and turning. He slowly opened his eyes.

Shadow could feel the light enter his eyes. It was a slightly painful process, but at least he knew one thing. He's alive. Shadow's alive and breathing. But… where was he? Last time he remembered, he had collapsed outside. Not inside this place. Was he on a bed? Shadow could feel his strength return to him as he began to speak.

"Where… where am I?" he asked. Now, his eyes were beginning to adjust to the light. He could make out the features of the room. There was not much to it, except for a small window. Orange sunlight poured out through the window. _Orange sunlight?_ He thought. _Wasn't the sun high when I was awake. Oh, no. How long was I out for? Hours? Days? Weeks?!_

"In Tyrantrum's home, specifically the medical room," a voice answered. Two things ran through his head at the moment. One, who is Tyrantrum? Then, he remembered something. Something that Sylveon said. " _Tyrantrum is the elder of our village,"_ Sylveon had said to him. Tyrantrum's the village elder. So that means he is in the village elder's home at the moment. The second thing that ran through his mind was that voice. Where did it come from? Shadow turned his head to the sound of the voice. There, on the left side of him, was a blue, bird-like pokemon with wings that looked like they were made of cotton. Who is she?

"Who are you?" he asked her. Her eyes widened in embarrassment. "Oh, my apologies," she said sheepishly. "Where are my manners? My name is Altaria. I'm the healer in the Emerald Village. On the other side of you is Skitty, my assistant." "Hello," said another voice. Shadow turned to his other side. There stood a small, pink and yellow cat. "My name is Skitty. It's nice to meet you Shadow!" Skitty smiled at him.

Shadow had a questioning look on his face. "How do you know my name?" he asked. "And how did I get here?" "Sylveon and Fennekin carried you here, along with Eevee," Altaria answered. The Riolu tried to sit up. He took a look at himself. Bandages were around his arms, legs, and bodies. They covered the burns on his body. _Healer,_ he thought. _They must have put these bandages on me._ For one thing, the burns still slightly hurt, but they felt a ton better than he did before.

"Do you know where they are now?" he asked them again. Shadow felt helpless. _Why did I have to faint in front of everyone?_ He hated that feeling of helplessness. "They're settling things with Tyrantrum at the moment," Skitty answered. "Sylveon is trying to get Tyrantrum to let you stay in the village. Fennekin went along with her. Though, I don't think it's going that…"

As she was about to finish, a loud roar echoed through the house. It sounded similar to the one in his dream. Perhaps when he was waking up, he had heard Tyrantrum. And the pain, it must have been from the burns. "We are not letting him stay here and that's final!" roared a voice. With that, all three of the pokemon's heart sank. Though, it was mostly Shadow that felt the pain. No wonder Sylveon had a sad look on her face whenever she mentioned Shadow staying at the village. Tyrantrum probably wouldn't let him stay there.

 _No,_ he thought. _Maybe I can change his mind. I have to! There must be a way!_ With that, Shadow rose from the bed. As much as his burns ached, he still got up. Altaria and Skitty took notice of this. "Where are you going?" asked Altaria. "To change Tyrantrum's mind," he answered. The two pokemon gasped. "What!?" they cried out in surprise. "You're crazy!" Skitty exclaimed. "Going up against him is like impossible! Many have tried to change his decision on multiple occasions, and they have failed and got punished. When you go up against him, you're basically going to justify his choice even more!" Skitty stated. "Skitty is right Shadow," Altaria said to him. "Going against the village elder will have you exiled from the village for sure. Besides, you need to rest."

Even though the situation seemed one sided, Shadow had to try. He would not let Tyrantrum scare him away. If there was even the slightest of chance of changing his point of view, Shadow would take it. "I have to try!" Shadow answered. When he said this, his fur began to slightly glow. Altaria and Skitty were amazed by this. As they looked at the glow with fascination, it seemed that all their fears and worries were dissolved from their hearts. The darkness in their hearts had disappeared. They had begun to put their confidence in Shadow.

"If I don't give at the chance," Shadow started. "Then his decision will remain the same. I will make him change his mind. I have to! Or else I'll be kicked out and have no place to go!" The Riolu made his way towards the door. He turned his head back to Altaria and Skitty. "Thank you, for all that you did for me," he said to them. "How long was I out?" "An hour or two," Skitty answered. "Good, I wasn't out for that long," Shadow stated. He opened the door and began to make his way out. "Good luck Shadow," Altaria said to him. He shot her a smile on his face, and closed the door behind him. "You're gonna need it," she finished. But the Riolu did not hear her.

Closing the door behind him, Shadow made his way through the hall. His ears were shifting around so he could hear any noise that echoed throughout the house. _Walking through this hall seems, familiar,_ he thought. But he had never been in Tyrantrum's home before. Heck, he never came to this world before until now. Then why did he get a feeling of nostalgia when he walked through it?

"I won't hear anymore!" the voice roared. Shadow's ears perked up at the noise. _Tyrantrum,_ he thought silently. He began to ran through the hallway, trying to find its source. For a split second, Shadow swore he saw the walls of the wood fashioned hallway go from Birch colored to metallic. However, he shook it off, as the Riolu realized that his mind was playing tricks on him. "Please Tyrantrum!" another voice pleaded. Sylveon. He was getting closer. Shadow ran faster and faster. His burns were causing him more pain but he ignored it again. He turned the corner and saw them. Sylveon, then Fennekin, and last a tall, brown and white, t-rex looking pokemon. _That must be him!_ He thought. Shadow ran in that direction.

"For the last time, Sylveon," Tyrantrum yelled. He was angry. Well he had every right to be. First he comes back to the village to find the Emerald Shrine in ruins. Then Sylveon comes to him, along with Fennekin, who caused it to collapse in the first place, to let an outsider stay in the village? He was not having any of it. "If you say it one more time, I'll have you both exiled from the village!" Both Sylveon's and Fennekin's eyes widened at this statement. Surely Tyrantrum wouldn't go that far? They stared at Tyrantrum in fear. But when they didn't notice was the golden Riolu they was running down the hall, getting closer and closer by the second.

"He is not staying in the…" Tyrantrum began to yell, but was cut off by something. Or rather, _someone._ The sound of running feet was heard across the shiny wood floor as someone ran in between the two terrified pokemon and Tyrantrum. Dust was kicked up and concealed the unidentified pokemon. "What is the meaning of this?!" Tyrantrum roared out. "Why is there dust everywhere!?" Sylveon and Fennekin closed their eyes as the dust flew around the room.

As the dust began to clear, a form appeared within the dust cloud, along with a faint glow of light. Sylveon and Fennekin opened their eyes and saw this as well. They knew that it could only be one pokemon. Only one pokemon could go that fast and give off a glow like that. Shadow. He's awake! Their hearts leapt for joy, but they knew they weren't out of the woods yet. Tyrantrum began to make out the form of the Riolu as well. _He's awake?_ He thought. _The sooner he's out of the village, the better._

However, when all the dust cleared, Shadow's entire form was seen. And with it came a glow of light from his fur. Bandages were wrapped around his body, but the light still glowed. The red bow around his neck shimmered in the light. Tyrantrum did not expect this. _How is this possible?_ He thought. _No matter. He'll soon be out of here anyway._ "Shadow!" the two pokemon yelled in joy behind him. He turned and faced them. "Have I missed something?" he smiled as he joked to them. Fennekin and Sylveon soon lost their fear of the situation when Shadow came in. He then turned back to Tyrantrum, now more serious than he was a moment before.

"Let me stay in the village, Tyrantrum," Shadow stated calmly. "I won't do any harm." "You already have!" the pokemon in front of him roared. This was meant to intimidate the Riolu. However, to Tyrantrum's surprise, the Riolu neither flinched or even looked the slightest bit scared. The strategy he just did usually worked on other smaller pokemon, but how come not this one? Shadow clearly is still holding is ground. And he would not give in to fear.

"And what have I done?" he inquired. At this moment, Shadow was the definition of calm and seriousness. Sylveon and Fennekin saw this. Usually any pokemon they had known would at this point be even the slightest bit terrified by Tyrantrum. But not Shadow.

"How about defend someone who broke our shrine!?" He roared. "First of all," Shadow started. "Fennekin said it was an accident. Which, indeed, it was. If anything, you can always rebuild a shrine, but you can never replace a pokemon." That, in itself, was true, and Shadow knew this. He was wording this say on the situation so Tyrantrum couldn't come up with a retaliation that worked against him. And, it seemed to be working. Tyrantrum was fuming with anger at this point.

"You say it was an accident," Tyrantrum said more calmly, but with a hint of anger in there. "But how could it be an accident? It's hard to destroy the shrine on accident!" "Were you there when this occurred?" Shadow inquired. Tyrantrum's eyes widened. The Riolu had caught him, just in the place he wanted. "Perhaps, it couldn't have _just_ been Fennekin. Perhaps, there was someone else involved." "Who else could have possibly been involved with this?" The fossil pokemon asked. "No one else was in the village except Fennekin!" He roared his last sentence in anger. Fennekin flinched, but at the same time, listened to what Shadow had to say. She couldn't back down either. Not now.

"Now you're just lying to yourself," Shadow stated. Tyrantrum was full of shock, as well as Sylveon and Fennekin. The Riolu had caught the great village elder, Tyrantrum, in a lie. "Have you been lying to your village so much that they'll believe anything at this point?" he inquired. "Lying about the broken shrine, lying about the spirits in Mist Forest..." "Lying about Vaporeon being sick because of Groudon!" a voice shouted behind him. Shadow turned around. Fennekin had said this. She stood up for herself. He smiled at her statement and nodded. Then he turned back to the village elder. The light emanating from his body was glowing brighter. "Those aren't lies!" he roared. "There are spirits in Mist Forest! Fennekin broke the shrine on purpose! And Vaporeon is sick because of Groudon! There's no denying it!"

"You wanna bet?"

Sylveon and Fennekin couldn't believe their eyes and ears. Across the hall, Altaria and Skitty couldn't believe it either. They were spying on the event that just transpired. What all four pokemon had seen and heard was unprecedented. Shadow had just challenged Tyrantrum. And was okay with it! Tyrantrum couldn't believe it either. This young Riolu just comes into his village and challenges his word?! He would pay for it!

"Is that a challenge?" Tyrantrum inquired angrily. This Riolu was not backing down. It reminded him of someone. More specifically, himself. "And what if it is?" Shadow replied. What was he thinking? Is he really going to fight Tyrantrum? This pokemon is more than triple his height! And probably more than triple his strength! How can he defeat him? Wait. He knew how! His speed!

"If you want a fight, then you got one!" Tyrantrum roared. As he said this, a strange phenomenon occured. An ominous, faint black aura surrounded Tyrantrum. The five pokemon looked on in astonishment and, well besides, Shadow, fear. What were they witnessing at this moment? What happened to the Tyrantrum they knew? Sylveon and Fennekin looked back at Shadow, only to be met with surprise. The Riolu was still holding his ground and looked ready for battle! His fur shined brightly, and his eyes were a fiery red, filled with a burning passion!

"Bring it on!" he yelled. When he did, Shadow focused and brought his paws together. Once he moved them apart, a long bone appeared. He was using Bone Rush. Shadow held out the bone in front of Sylveon and Fennekin, who were still looking at Tyrantrum in fear. Altaria and Skitty were watching in amazement as they saw Shadow's actions. He was protecting Fennekin and Sylveon. "But first," Shadow stated. "If you want them…"

"You'll have to go through me…"

Tyrantrum roared, and lunged towards Shadow. The Riolu, did the same. The pokemon clashed with each other. Shadow used Bone Rush, while Tyrantrum used Dragon Claw. The room was met with destruction and force and the two pokemon battled. Both of them were thrown back by the collision. But, that barely affected both of them. Tyrantrum then ran towards Shadow and was about to use Dragon Claw again. But, to his surprise, he missed. Shadow had dodged his attack.

As the two pokemon were in the fray, Altaria and Skitty decided to reveal themselves. "Sylveon!" Altaria whispered, for fear that they would get noticed by Tyrantrum. "Fennekin!" Skitty whispered as well. The two pokemon who were called by name turned their heads. Altaria and Skitty had arrived. They came up to them, while at the same time, watched the fated battle in front of them. "What exactly is going on?" Altaria asked. The four pokemon turned their heads as they heard a small explosion. Tyrantrum had slammed his Dragon Claw into the floor, trying to get to Shadow, but instead, missed. One of the floorboards ended up breaking.

"To be honest, I have no idea," Sylveon answered. "Do you want me to explain?" "No it's alright," Skitty answered. "We saw the whole thing." "You did?" Fennekin asked, with a hint of annoyance. She was provoked by the fact that Altaria and Skitty were spying on them, but she was glad that they knew about this. "Yeah," Skitty explained. "But I don't know how to explain this."

They watched the scene unfold in front of them. Shadow jumped off of one of the walls of the house and hit Tyrantrum with a Vacuum Wave. Though, Tyrantrum barely felt that. At the same time, Tyrantrum hit him with a Dragon Tail and sent Shadow flying into the wall. "Oh no!" Fennekin cried out. "Altaria, Sylveon. Your attacks will be strong against Tyrantrum right?" "They will be," Sylveon said. "But Tyrantrum can take a lot." "She's right, Fennekin," Altaria answered. "Tyrantrum can take many hits."

"But we can't just sit here and do nothing!" she yelled. Skitty was astonished by this. Since when was Fennekin so… courageous? "We have to help Shadow!" "Fennekin," Skitty said. "We can't take him down." "If any of you won't do anything, then I will!" she yelled. "Fight me Tyrantrum! Fight me!" She ran in the direction of him. Sylveon then turned to Altaria and Skitty. "Then we might as well fight too!" she stated. The three pokemon nodded their heads and charged forward.

When Shadow hit the floor, he was pinned down by Tyrantrum. He was stuck. Tyrantrum was about to hit the Riolu with Bite when he felt pain by his leg. "Grohhhwww!" he roared out. The grip on Shadow was loosened, and he was able to push out of it. Though, who attacked Tyrantrum? Then, he was able to see who it was. Fennekin. She attacked Tyrantrum to save him!

"Fairy Wind!" a voice shouted. Sylveon. "Dragon Breath!" another voice shouted. Altaria. "Disarming Voice!" a third voice yelled. Skitty. They were all attacking at once. Shadow looked over to Fennekin and got up and attacked Tyrantrum. "Psybeam!" Fennekin shouted. Shadow focused and drew his paws to the back of him. A sphere made of Aura appeared. "Aura Sphere!" he cried out.

All five pokemon unleashed their attacks on the unsuspecting Tyrantrum. "Ahhhhhhh!" he roared out in pain. The attacks hit him all at the same time. It was super effective. An explosion was heard, which blew away everything in its path. Dust swirled all around the room, blinding the pokemon. Then, there was silence. The dust began to clear away. The five pokemon uncovered their eyes. Shadow looked at himself to see that his fur had stopped glowing. When the dust cleared, a large form of a pokemon was on the floor. Tyrantrum. The black aura had faded from him. He had fainted!

Shadow couldn't believe it. With their combined strength, they had defeated possibly the strongest pokemon in the village. His eyes shined brightly. They did it! Shadow was about to celebrate when he saw the familiar figure of Altaria going over to the fainted Tyrantrum. He, as well as Fennekin, Skitty, and Sylveon ran over to the fainted village elder.

"Will he be ok?" asked Sylveon. "I think so," Altaria answered. "He just needs to rest for now." A groan was heard from Tyrantrum. He slowly opened his eyes. Then he saw the group of pokemon surrounding him. "What…what happened?" he asked. All five of them didn't know how to explain the situation. But, despite that, Shadow took a chance at the opportunity. "We were discussing about me staying in the village," he stated. The pokemon looked at him, even Tyrantrum. "Really?" he asked. "But isn't it against the rules to let…"

"Please Tyrantrum, let him stay!" a voice called from the hallway. A voice that Shadow didn't recognize. All six pokemon turned their heads. There, in the hallway next to the room was Eevee. But she wasn't alone. Next to her seemed like a taller version of her, but instead was a light blue color. He had long ears, black colored eyes, and a long, fish-like tail. All of them gasped when they saw who it was. Sylveon was filled with joy.

"Vaporeon!"

* * *

 **Author's Endnote**

 **Oh. My. ARCEUS!** **I think that is the longest chapter I have written so far in this story! Hopefully it doesn't feel like it was crammed or anything. I wanted to write more, but again, I didn't want to cram everything into one chapter. So here we are! And I updated earlier than usual! YEE! Now into explanations.**

 **See martyrex? I told ya I would find a way to implement Skitty XD. Anyway, we got two, actually four, characters introduced in this chapter. We got Altaria and Skitty, who are the village healers, Tyrantrum, the village elder, who is corrupted by darkness, and a surprise character at the end. I won't say too much about him, I want a surprise. Pretty much Altaria is like a guide as well, and Skitty will be one of Shadow's friends. I wouldn't say Skitty would be as close of a friend as Fennekin in the future, just a friend ya know.**

 **Next we have Fennekin. Woah she goes through a whirlwind of emotions through this. First she cares and worries about Shadow, then she's happy, then terrified, then brave. Lots to go through right? Like I said before, this is not a love story, but a story of friendship. Fennekin cares about Shadow because of what he did for her. But she is fearful because that's her nature. Fennekin is afraid of things. However, when one of her friends is in danger, she will do anything to protect them.**

 **So we get back into Sonic's World for a bit. Why is it that the Sonic portions of this are easier to write than the pokemon portions? XD Idk at this point. But anyway, through probably the next chapters, The Sonic gang (well except Shadow, because you know why) will eventually be getting together to find the Chaos Emeralds. Not gonna say anymore. Oh, and Dialga's messing around in Sonic's World, revealing bits of the** _ **prophecy ooooo.**_

 **Speaking of Sonic characters, next is Shadow. So basically the dream he had ties into the fact of Tyrantrum being corrupted by darkness. At first I wanted it to be about something else, you'll find out what that something else is eventually, rest assured, then I switched it over to Tyrantrum. But, let's just say that the dream has something to do with that something else per say. Also, in a little bit of his chapter, he begins to act a bit like his old self again, in which he knows what to say during an argument, speaking with barely or little to no emotion in a conflict, and of course, throwing himself into a fray in order to protect others. But let's just say his personality may change a bit throughout his story (yeah, he's no longer his grumpy self XD)**

 **Last, tell me what you guys think! I love reviews! They keep me going! And you guys love this story. I didn't think it would take off, yet here I am, with the story taking off. Let me know your opinion!**

 **I got writer's block and bored halfway through this fic, so I started writing my take on Forces. Might be up soon. Also what do you guys think of Let's GO Pikachu and Eevee? I'm getting Eevee. Also also, this story is 100 pages on Docs. YEE, I'm writing too much. XD**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya Universe!**

 **-Palkia**


	7. Ch6 Explanations While Gem Hunting

**Author's Note**

 ***Wakes up in the morning* *Grabs a cup of cocoa* *passes by Dialga* *goes to Fanfiction* *Sees that QFL is on the front page of Pokemon-Sonic crossovers for Follows AND Favorites…* *not quite the top but still there***

 ***Proceeds to spit out cocoa on computer XD***

 **In all seriousness. Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU GUYS! So many of you love this story, and I can't believe it! I never thought this story would get popular, yet here we are! Chapter 6 and still going strong! Oh my Arceus, I'm gonna get so emotional soon! *proceeds to cry on Dialga's shoulder with cup of cocoa in hand* You guys made this happen and I'm very grateful for all of you who enjoy my story! Let's get onto answering reviews!**

 **Infinite's Ruby: Oh my Arceus dude! You really enjoy this story don't ya! Thanks dude! It really means a lot! And yeah, Shadow's gotta act a bit like his old self right? I don't want him to be so, OC-like ya know? But his personality is going to shift a bit. It's kinda hard to write about him this way, because you want him to act different and also the same too. I mean, he's not gonna act all edgy around everyone else in the Pokemon World, but perhaps, if he ever gets back to his home world, this may influence some of his friend's reactions towards him. (and possibly a sequel OOOO) But the main thing is that Fennekin will probably influence his change in personality throughout the story. So they'll be good friends!**

 **Anyway, enough of me, Let's Go! (Pikachu and Eevee XD)**

 **Also I do not own Pokemon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

 **Explanations While Gem Hunting**

"Vaporeon!" Sylveon's excited voice called out to her brother. She ran over to her sister and recently healed brother. _So that's Vaporeon,_ Shadow thought. _Wasn't he sick though? Maybe Eevee gave him the Oran Berries while I was knocked out. Was I really knocked out for that long?_

Even though Skitty had said only an hour of two, it felt like only 15 seconds. The dream went by so fast. It was weird. The fact that he heard a roar that sounded exactly like Tyrantrum's puzzled him. Speaking of said pokemon, what had happened to him? One minute they were arguing, the next he went out on a rampage with a strange dark aura surrounding him.

 _Aura,_ Shadow thought, who was getting a slight headache, but wasn't going to faint at the moment. Before he passed out earlier, he remembered Sylveon say something about it. What was it again? He began to ponder this. Then, the Riolu remembered. _Aura is the life force found in every being_ , Shadow thought. However, that wasn't even the strangest thing at the time. When Sylveon spoke, it sounded like two pokemon were talking at the same time, not one. He had heard the pink and white pokemon's voice, but also another voice. And that voice… it sounded familiar. Though, Shadow couldn't place where and when he had heard it.

"I can't believe it!" Sylveon exclaimed. "You're alright! Those Oran Berries helped you a lot didn't they?" "Actually Eevee only needed to give me one," Vaporeon stated. "I feel a heck of a lot better than I did a half an hour ago."

The blue eeveelution sibling began to walk towards the rest of the group. Eevee and Sylveon followed behind him. Then he began to speak. "We saw the whole thing," he answered. For one thing, all of the pokemon in the room were surprised. But at the same time, they weren't. "Though, I must say that I'm impressed by you Shadow."

The Riolu looked at Vaporeon. Astonishment filled his ruby eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked. Why would he be impressed? Was it because of the events that just happened?

"Eevee has told me a lot about you," Vaporeon answered. "She has told me about the recent events you've experienced. I should be the one to thank you for all that you've done. If it weren't for you, well, heh, I probably, as well as maybe even Eevee, wouldn't be standing here right now. Fennekin would probably be more hurt than she is now, and Tyrantrum, well, he would probably be tearing up a storm."

The Riolu looked over to the injured village elder, and then to the other pokemon. Well, he had certainly influenced so many lives right now. Maybe this is what Vaporeon's reason is for Shadow to stay in the village. A reason that Tyrantrum cannot deny at this moment. When a pokemon changes the hearts of pokemon, they are deemed good, and are permitted to stay in the village.

Vaporeon stepped forward towards Tyrantrum. The village elder began to stand up, despite his injuries. "Tyrantrum," Vaporeon began. "If I may, I wish to ask for you to listen to me." The t-rex looking pokemon nodded his head. "You are granted this permission," he said. _Here we go,_ Shadow thought. _My chance._

"From what I have heard from Eevee, my sister," he began. "Shadow helped the pokemon of the Emerald Village in many ways. First, when Eevee went missing, he helped my other sister Sylveon look for her." Sylveon began to recall that moment. She remembered how lost and alone he was in that moment when she first encountered the golden Riolu. But at the same time, she remembered how Shadow was very willing to help her search for her sister. "Yes," she said. Vaporeon turned to her. "That is true. Shadow was willing to help me find Eevee."

He began to speak again. "Then, he helped defend Eevee and Sylveon in the Mist Forest where the so called "spirits" were, but turned out to be a Weavile and his gang of Sneasel." Eevee remembered how Shadow had saved her from the gang leader. He had knocked him off with a Bone Rush, a move that a Riolu couldn't learn! "It was amazing!" she said. "I've never seen anyone fight like that!"

Shadow almost blushed at the comment, but he kept it to himself. He didn't want that kind of feeling to be shown in this situation. The Riolu had to stay serious. Though, the way the three siblings spoke, they were helping him, just like he helped them.

"They managed to get Oran Berries and bring them back to the village," he stated. "Eevee gave one of them to me. Without it, I probably wouldn't be standing here right now. And even better, Weavile and the Sneasel have opened up Mist Forest as a place for berry gathering! We are now able to gather medical herbs and berries that we could never find before!" Tyrantrum was shocked to hear this. The fact that all of this happened in one single afternoon, and the fact that Shadow was able to accomplish this. He remembered back when he was young, Mist Forest was a place of plentiful harvest. But, just like he was over time, the forest began to be taken over by darkness, clouding better judgement. Now, the forest was open again, and one Riolu was able to chase out the darkness.

"When they returned to the village," Vaporeon began again. "You were still out searching for Eevee. However, three pokemon stayed behind in the village. Monferno, Electrike, and Fennekin." Tyrantrum lowered his head in guilt. He remembered that decision, but that decision wasn't his own. Darkness had influenced him. He was just so frustrated at the time that he let it take him over. Was there ever a way to have this action forgiven? Then, he noticed Vaporeon nodding to Fennekin, and she began to speak. Though, she was trying her best to keep herself in control.

"I was being chased and bullied by those two. So much so that they led me into the shrine!" Fennekin began, with some disdain in her voice for Monferno and Electrike. Her emotions were built up from all these years that they were so hard to contain. She tried her best."Then, the shrine was destroyed! And they told me that Rayquaza would send his wrath upon the village!" She could feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes. "They blamed me! They said I did it on purpose when it was an accident! All these years I tried to be nice to them, and this is how they treated me!" Fennekin was on the verge of a breakdown. Her legs went numb. "Monferno tried to hit me! They threw a rock at me!"

With that, she collapsed to the ground, sobbing as all of her emotions began to come out at once. Eevee, Skitty, and Shadow ran to her. "Fennekin!" Eevee cried out. Shadow stood near the other two pokemon as they tried to comfort her. _I didn't think it was this bad,_ he thought silently. _Those two will pay for what they did._ However, something inside his head played that same message again. _Give them a chance… to be happy…_

 _Revenge… isn't always the answer,_ he thought. Someone had reminded him of this. But who? And when was this? Shadow couldn't remember. No one came to mind when he thought about the situation. Though, something drew him away from his thoughts, or rather a someone. Shadow couldn't dwell on what he thought had happened in his past. He had to focus on what's right in front of him. Though, he wasn't the best type of, well, pokemon, to be able to comfort someone, but he would try his best.

All the while, Tyrantrum was watching the entire scene unfold right in front of his eyes. Oh, how he was such an idiot to not notice this earlier. He wanted this entire situation to just be a dream. Tyrantrum just wanted to wake up in his bed, knowing that this never existed. But even he knew, that was impossible. This was very real. And darkness was to blame…

 _Darkness,_ he thought. Could it be the same darkness that Arceus was referring to in their legends and stories that were thousands of years old? It is a possibility. However, Tyrantrum never believed that the darkness would reach ordinary pokemon on the Gem Continent. _Well,_ he thought. _I have been proven wrong._

Fennekin looked up as she noticed two shadows of pokemon loom over her. Eevee and Skitty came to her side. And shortly, Shadow came to her side as well. She stopped crying and acknowledged those who were with her. Those who were right by her side comforting her at this moment. These were her friends. Skitty and Eevee have been her friends for as long as she could remember.

Then, there was the golden Riolu in front of her. _Shadow,_ she thought. Did she consider him her friend? Well, he did save her, after all. She later then returned the favor as well. But were they friends? Friends certainly looked out for each other and helped one another out. She would have to find out later. Now, Fennekin continued her story.

"Thank you…" she whispered. "All three of you…" Skitty and Eevee smiled back at her, while Shadow nodded his head. Fennekin got up from where she was standing and began the second half of the story. She wiped away her remaining tears.

"As Monferno was about to hit me, Shadow ran in front of him and blocked his Mach Punch. He then chased those two off. After that, he fell unconscious." With that, Fennekin took a step back, indicating that she was done with her part. Vaporeon nodded, and he continued where she left off. _So what I'm about to hear is what happened when I was unconscious,_ Shadow thought. _Maybe it might explain what that weird dream was all about._

"During which the time he was unconscious," Vaporeon began. "Sylveon and Fennekin came to you to convince you to let Shadow stay in the village. Also, Eevee came to me. You were enraged that the shrine was destroyed that you would've probably destroyed them if it wasn't for Shadow." With that, Vaporeon finished. Tyrantrum looked down in shame. How could he have hurt the pokemon he was sworn to protect?

Shadow noticed Tyrantrum. He was hurt. Not just physically, but also mentally. The dream that he had, it showed Tyrantrum in pain. The village elder thinks that it's all his own fault. He needed healing. Why did this situation seem so… familiar? Hurting the ones you love… the thought of it was terrible in Shadow's mind. Yet, nothing came to him.

Sorrow and pity filled his ruby eyes for the village elder. This would not only take Shadow's forgiveness, but also the entire village's forgiveness. Who knows? Perhaps not all the village would want to forgive him. Looking at the situation with Fennekin, it seemed like Tyrantrum put her through a heck of a lot. Not everyone is willing to forgive.

 _But… I am,_ he thought. This made his stomach become uneasy. That feeling was back. Why did it feel like it was hard to forgive someone? Was it this way in the past? Shadow had no clue. _Weird feeling or not, this wasn't his fault. And he feels really guilty for all that he has done. If no one is willing to do it, then I will._

"Tyrantrum," he began. The village elder turned to him. Everyone turned to him. Even Fennekin, who was still in sadness, looked at him. "Please don't feel guilty for what happened. This wasn't your doing." He then got up, shaking off the dust from the earlier battle. Tyrantrum's injuries were still hurting, but he shook it off. No one was really shocked this time when Shadow forgave him. True, the pokemon attacked them, but this was the village elder. Now that he was acting like his old self again, they were grateful for it. At one time, they all wanted the old Tyrantrum to come back.

"Thank you...uhh…" he trailed off. He had forgotten the young Riolu's name. "Shadow," the Riolu stated. "Shadow the… Riolu." He had paused for a second between "the" and "Riolu." Why did it feel like something else should've been there? True, he knew that he wasn't a Riolu to begin with. Though, the phrase he said felt too familiar to him.

"Shadow," Tyrantrum said. "Yes, though, I'm afraid not everyone will forgive me for my actions." This the village elder knew for a fact. Shadow knew this would happen and knew what Tyrantrum was going to say. The Riolu felt like this had happened before. But when? And where?

"Tyrantrum, even if you believe the whole world will be against you, know that I'll be right by your side. Remember that."

His eyes widened and his body slightly trembled, though not enough for someone to truly notice, at his statement. _Someone had said this before…_ his mind screamed. _Who did? Please! I need to know! Who said this to me?! And why would the world be against me?!_ Unfortunately for Shadow, nothing came to him. The village elder seemed to relax at this statement, as well as everyone in the room. Though no one could see the inner turmoil the memory deprived Riolu was in at the moment. Shadow didn't want to show what was happening, so he tried to keep a low profile as his eyes narrowed to their original size.

However, his posture didn't go unnoticed by a certain fox pokemon, as she saw his eyes widen in shock and the slight trembling at his statement. _Something must have happened when he said that,_ Fennekin realized. _Did he remember something? I'll have to ask him later._

"You have courage, young one," Tyrantrum spoke. Shadow directed his attention to him. "And for that, I am grateful. From what Vaporeon had said, as well as everyone else's confirmation of the account, and Fennekin's reaction of her retelling her story, you are very confident and brave. You would protect any Pokémon who is defenseless, even if you didn't know them at the time. I admire that."

He then began to walk towards Shadow. "I suppose you don't have any place to stay, correct?" He asked. "Yes, I… don't have a home." Shadow answered. _Strange,_ Tyrantrum thought. _So he has no home. His species is not native to this continent. So how did he get here?_

"I am curious, however," he continued. "Riolu are not native to the Gem Continent. Yet Sylveon found you. So how did you get here?" Shadow sighed. He realized that Sylveon was trying to keep his true story a secret. But because Tyrantrum was no longer influenced by that darkness, he figured it was best to tell the truth. He turned his head to Sylveon. She knew what he was thinking, and nodded her head. Shadow then directed his attention to the village elder, and began his story.

* * *

Across time and space, an ongoing argument was taking forever and ever to end. It started when, at that time, a white hedgehog had found two chaos emeralds and was searching for a third. He had, in his possession, the purple and white chaos emeralds. Such a specific color combination confused him. That is, until a certain purple female cat, who happened to be the guardian of her emeralds, came from her dimension with a strange situation.

"I'm telling you Silver," she demanded. "He had nothing to do with it!" Usually Blaze was calm in situations like this. However, Silver just pushed her over the edge. "Well he must've had something to do with it!" he yelled. "He's Eggman Nega for a reason!" _Ugh,_ she thought. _He can be so immature at times._

"Silver, he did nothing in this situation!" Blaze yelled. Silver flinched at the sound of her voice. "I went straight into his base, demanding an answer, and he flat out admitted that he did nothing."

"If that's true," Silver answered. "Then why are the Sol Emeralds practically dead!"

Blaze just hung her head down in defeat. She didn't know how to answer him. When she woke up in her dimension and checked on the emeralds, two of them were drained of their power, with a third one waning. No one dared to touch the Sol Emeralds, except for Eggman that one time and Eggman Nega. So without a second thought, she, along with the seven Sol Emeralds, raced over to his base.

Only to find out that he had nothing to do with it. When she got in there, he was just as surprised as she was when he first found out the Sol Emeralds were losing energy. By that time, the third emerald was already dead, with the fourth emerald already at the verge of losing the last amount of energy contained within it.

With nothing else to do, Blaze returned home and told everyone that she was heading to Sonic's dimension. If Nega wasn't doing this, then there must be a higher force that is causing this. Perhaps, the Chaos Emeralds were losing their energy too. So she left for Sonic's dimension, however it was at a cost. By the time she was leaving, only three of the seven Sol Emeralds were fully charged. Though it was still enough to get her there. Once Blaze got there, however, their power was depleted.

Arriving in Sonic's Dimension, Blaze was the first one to notice that Silver had arrived from the future. He was just visiting for now, and he was about to leave, as he had just acquired, coincidentally, the white and purple chaos emeralds, when Blaze had arrived and stopped him, asking if anything was wrong with the chaos emeralds.

And here they were. The question, the accusation, and now the argument. At that moment, Silver thought the emeralds were as fine as they could be. Though, he didn't know if this was true for the other ones. All he knew about was the two glowing emeralds that were in his hands. Wait a minute… both of them were glowing?

"I don't know," Blaze sighed in defeat. Though Silver wasn't paying attention anymore. He was staring down at the gems in his hands. The white chaos emerald continued its normal glow, while the purple one began to shine brighter.

"Uh, Blaze?" he asked. But she paid no attention. Instead, Blaze became angrier than she was before. "You can't be serious Silver!" she yelled. "You're still trying to convince me!?" "Blaze it's not that it's…" he tried but Blaze cut him off. "You can be so immature at times, especially now!" Fire began to form in her palms. "Blaze, I'm serious, it's…" Silver tried again, but it was to no avail. Anger flared in her eyes. "You're such a darn child Silver!" she yelled. Silver began to notice the flames in her hands turning darker, like darkness had consumed them. "You're immature, selfish, and…"

"BLAZE!" he cried out as he held the emerald in front of her. Her eyes focused and them widened at the scene. It was the purple emerald. Though, something was odd about it. It was flashing. _No, not here too,_ she thought. Blaze's assumptions were right. The emeralds were losing power. The flames in her hands dissipated.

The purple gem began flashing more and more violently. Silver and Blaze's eyes were widening. The white hedgehog got so nervous that he dropped the emerald out of his hand, like if it was going to explode. He had never seen any of the Chaos emeralds in this state before. So why was it happening now?

Silver still held the white chaos emerald in his hand as the other kept flashing. All of a sudden, it was flashing so fast that it looked like it was holding a solid glow. They both stared at it with confused and surprised eyes. _This is what happened before…_ Blaze thought. Then, the glow slowly began to fade. At last, there was nothing.

 _The Sol Emeralds went out…_

After a few seconds, Silver reached out towards the Chaos emerald. He then picked it up. He tried to call whatever power existed in the emerald. Though, he was left with nothing. The power was gone. The emerald had lost its light.

"It's powerless," he started, then turned to Blaze. "How could this happen? Nothing has touched these emeralds in days besides me." "That's what happened to the Sol Emeralds before they went out as well," she noted. "One after another, they started to flash rapidly, then a solid glow, then nothing."

He then looked at the dead emerald in his palm. Then Silver sighed. "I'm… sorry I didn't believe you earlier," he admitted. Blaze took note of his apology and accepted it. "I'm sorry too," she said. "I don't know what came over me. Maybe it was the emerald's lack of power."

 _Whatever it was,_ he thought. _That was not normal._ Silver, in all the time he knew Blaze, had never seen her flames go dark like that. She must've been real angry. But Silver knew her better than anyone else. Then why did he never see that before? Something must be causing this. And they needed to stop this fast before all the emeralds go out. Who knows what could happen. Chaos energy would be greatly disrupted, causing many disasters.

"I have a bad feeling that the Dr. Eggman here has nothing to do with the emerald's loss of power," he stated. Blaze knew he was right. Unless the doctor was actually smart enough to make some sort of weapon that was capable of draining an emerald's power in _this_ specific way, there was no way he could've done it. Silver said it himself that he had both emeralds for a few days. There was no way Eggman was able to approach him with the emeralds that close without being noticed. Besides, none of his machines have ever truly drained the emeralds of their power. "Do you think Sonic knows about this?" she asked. Silver didn't think so. He hasn't Sonic since…

 _That day,_ he thought. _Blaze doesn't know._ Truth be told, he wasn't just visiting. Yes, he was here just to check up on how things were doing in the past, but he didn't realize what had happened. _Shadow is dead,_ he thought. The thought made him flinch.

The Ultimate Life Form's death surprised him. Even he thought that Shadow was immortal. Silver just couldn't get his head around the matter. How could he have been killed like that? There was just no way. Sonic had asked him to attend the ceremony, and so he did. It just didn't seem possible, or probable for that matter.

"I…" Silver hesitated. Sonic would just have to tell Blaze himself. He didn't want to be the bringer of even more bad news. "I don't think so. I was already headed home so I haven't seen him in a day or two." "Then we'll have to go to him then," Blaze said. "He deserves to know. He might be able to fix this." She gestured to the emerald. "Let's go find him then!" Silver stated. They both nodded in agreement and raced off. Silently, Silver added, _I hope so…_

As they raced off into the distance, a blue-steel dragon appeared from his hiding spot. He was quite puzzled with the current situation. **So it has spread here too, hasn't it?** Dialga said. **Arceus must know of this, and the Lustrous Orb will not last long in my care. I cannot stay here longer. Palkia needs this in order to heal. Though, two chaos emeralds have gone down. And all the Sol Emeralds are gone as well. This is rather disturbing. We must call a meeting at once. I must return.**

Dialga then held out the Lustrous Orb in front of him. With it, he opened a gateway to his own world. Unfortunately, Palkia was unable to travel dimensions because of the broken pearl on his right shoulder. Giratina was to blame for this. It had been a week since Giratina began to feel the effects of the darkness. When he first did, he got into an argument with Palkia, and well, the rest is history. Arceus banished Giratina to the Distortion World until the darkness mess could be cleaned up. He couldn't travel through dimensions, so it would be no problem for Gira to stay there. Palkia was a different story.

The Temporal Pokemon had been tasked with all of Pal's jobs for Arceus ever since he got hurt, weighing all the work on Dia. Not only did Dia have to travel through the dimensions with the Lustrous Orb, he also was assigned tasks to perform in other dimensions that Pal usually took care of. It was annoying to say the least. Though, this was the time that he needed his brother most. Especially during this Rise of Darkr… ahem… Darkness.

With one final look, Dia began to make his way towards the portal. He sighed. **You won't be able to fix this hedgehog, none of you will.** He began to make his way through. **Pal, I hope you made the right choice.** At last, the portal closed behind him, leaving nothing there except a time-space distortion that no one currently noticed.

* * *

The room was quiet, except for the voice of the Riolu and the the village elder asking him questions. The sun was beginning to set, so Tyrantrum had ushered everyone to their homes. They all looked pretty tired and beat after today's adventures, so it was best for them to get some sleep. Besides, they have all heard the story before, so they didn't mind not hearing it again.

Tyrantrum had asked him questions like, "You fell from the sky?" or "Do you remember anything?" and "You say that you are not human, so how can that be?" Though these questions were either answered with a "Yes," or "No," or "I don't know." Shadow couldn't exactly answer every question the village elder had at the moment, thanks to his memory loss.

After Shadow was done, Tyrantrum rose from his place and looked outside. Night was approaching. He asked him one final question. "Shadow," he said. "Let me ask you something." The Riolu nodded his head as he stood up, looking towards Tyrantrum with his ruby eyes as the village elder watched the oncoming night appear. "What do you think of the village and the pokemon who live here?"

He thought for a moment as he stood back. _What do I think? Why would he ask me that?_ Perhaps this was the village elder's way of saying, "Do you want to stay here?" Shadow began to think about his experiences today.

First there was Sylveon. She seemed like a big sister or a mother to the pokemon he had met, besides being the older sister to Eevee. Skitty and Eevee were like sisters to each other more than friends. They cared about each other and especially helping those in need, like Vaporeon and Shadow. Altaria took care of everyone, as she is the village healer, but she is kind and sweet to those around her. He had not gotten to know Vaporeon, but he seemed like the one to take care of others when mistakes happen, as one's big brother would do.

Then there was Fennekin. Shadow didn't know her that well either. Though, he did know one thing, and that is that the poor pokemon has been through a lot in this village. She has been tormented through most of her life, it seems. _I saved her, and then she saved me,_ he thought. _I must thank her for that. Not just her, but all of the pokemon I've met._ Shadow then came to a conclusion on what his ideas were.

"In all honesty, Tyrantrum," he began. "The village is, well… like a family. Everyone cares for each other and pokemon work together through their problems. I've seen that here. Altaria and Skitty helped bring me back to health." He pointed the the bandages on his arms and legs. "Sylveon, Eevee, and Vaporeon stood up for me when they explained their experience they had with me. And Fennekin… well she saved me."

"Saved you?" Tyrantrum asked. Shadow nodded. "You may not remember, but during the fight I had with you, I was pinned down. I thought I was done for sure, but Fennekin managed to push you out of the way before your attack hit."

"Hmm, this is interesting," the village elder said. Shadow gave him a confused look. "Is something wrong?" he asked. Tyrantrum chuckled. Now the Riolu was even more confused. "I never thought I would see Fennekin do something that courageous." "What do you mean?" asked Shadow.

"Fennekin has been shy and timid for most of her life," Tyrantrum admitted. It, in a way, surprised Shadow. From the way he saw her, she didn't look shy at all. Fennekin didn't look like the type of pokemon to be shy. Though, Shadow had heard the situation with Monferno and Electrike. She didn't fight back that well. For her to stand up against Tyrantrum must've shocked everyone.

"She's not the type of pokemon go up against anyone," he continued. "Fennekin may be this way because of the way she was treated by the other Pokémon in the village." "I understand," he answered him. "I'm not entirely sure it is that, however," Tyrantrum spoke again. "Do you mind explaining?" asked Shadow. In his mind, he knew, that it was best to know how this all started, so that he might be able to help out with it.

Why did it always feel like that he shouldn't be helping them? Did something happen in the past that made him not care about anyone? It just felt odd to him whenever he did something _nice._

"Apparently," Tyrantrum began. "Some sort of event happened when she was very young. Fennekin wandered out from the village, so we put out a search party. Later on, her father, Zoroark, found her in an unknown location. Though, he didn't find her in a perfect way… She was traumatized."

"What!?" Shadow asked frantically. Fennekin was traumatized? By what? By who? Tyrantrum could see his reaction. "I had the same reaction Shadow," he answered. "Zoroark didn't know how. He tried to ask Fennekin what had happened, and yet, despite our efforts, she refused to say anything. Other than the fact that she was scared, Zoroark noticed that she was wearing something. A necklace."

"A necklace?" Shadow said. "It wasn't hers to begin with, right?" Tyrantrum nodded. "Her father only got a glimpse of the string, but never saw the pendant. She would never talk about the event, or the necklace. All I know, is that from that day, Fennekin wasn't the way she used to be."

 _Wow,_ he thought. _To think that one event can change an entire person's personality and life. Why does that seem so familiar as well. Ugh, I hate this. Sometimes I just want to know who I am with no questions asked._

"Hmm," the village elder hummed. Then he came to a conclusion. "Shadow, I allow you to stay in the Emerald Village."

 _Yes!_ He thought in triumph. Though, he didn't want to be showing it. He wanted to be serious, like he was very grateful for Tyrantrum letting him stay. Shadow is grateful, but he wanted to look like he appreciate it. So he simply nodded his head and smiled at him.

"Thank you Tyrantrum!" Unfortunately though, he couldn't contain his excitement. This felt so strange for him. Is was as if happiness and joyful things weren't a part of him. Was it this way before?

"You will stay in my home, considering it is the biggest one in the village and no other house has enough space for you." he said to him. Shadow nodded. He didn't mind staying with Tyrantrum. "The room that everyone else brought you into is open if you like." he said to Shadow. "Though, in the morning, I want to discuss something with just you, Shadow. So don't go to bed too late." The village elder yawned. He was clearly tired as well.

"I won't," the Riolu promised. "I just have to do something before I sleep." "Go ahead," the village elder assured him. "Good Night Shadow." "Night Tyrantrum!" he said. Shadow then raced out of the village elder's view. He reached the door and headed outside.

Tyrantrum looked out the window to see where Shadow was going. Once he saw the Riolu turn in a certain direction and run off, he chuckled to himself. "I have a feeling," he said to himself. "That I know where he is going…" The pokemon then went to his room and began to settle in. _Perhaps Shadow, you can change her as well…_ The village elder drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Once he ran out of the building, Shadow stopped in the middle of the village. _I have to find her,_ he thought. _Though, how can I? What did Sylveon say earlier? About me being able to locate others?_

Shadow began to think back to the time before he passed out. There, in his memory, was Sylveon and Eevee. They were at the edge of the village, just seeing the aftermath of what had transpired earlier. He then asked how he was able to find Fennekin. Shadow remembered.

" _Riolu and it's evolution Lucario are able to detect aura. With this ability, th_ ey _can sense emotions and feelings, and sometimes, maybe even voices, of pokemon"_ That's what it was. He was somehow able to detect aura. Such a word confused him. Why was he having so many senses of deja vu? He pushed the matter aside and began to focus on the matter at hand. _How do I do it again?_ He silently asked. Perhaps if he focused enough?

Shadow began to concentrate, putting his paws together and folding them. _Please,_ he thought. _Let this work for me again._ He concentrated even more, putting his energy to use. And then, it worked.

Immediately, he felt tons of different energies around him. Shadow opened his eyes. He was no longer in the village. Darkness surrounded him. It was almost like his dream. Only this time, there was something different. There were, as least what he saw, fiery lights are around him. Each was a different color. He looked at himself and noticed that he was covered in a fiery red light. Shadow stared in awe at the lights. Was this aura? It had to be.

 _I have to find hers, just like I did before,_ he thought. He focused, trying to find one specific aura. It felt as if he was traveling a distance. His spirit was traveling. Then at last, he came upon the one he wanted. This aura was different than the others. It was a shining blue.

 _That has to be Fennekin,_ he thought. He opened his eyes, revealing the yellow and orange fire type pokemon. Though, she didn't seem to notice him. Well, it was only his spirit that was there, not his body. Of course she wouldn't be able to see him.

Now, he opened his eyes again. Shadow was back at the village. He had found her. With that, the Riolu raced off into the distance.

Fennekin began to think about the events that happened today. _So much has happened today,_ she thought. _First my friend went missing, then I was attacked by Monferno and Electrike, and then…_

She felt a rush of wind behind her. Fennekin turned around. She saw him. The Riolu who saved her today. Shadow. How did he find her so fast? He was just full of mystery.

"How did you…?" she trailed off, indicating what she was going with her sentence. "I'm full of surprises, I guess," he said. Shadow then sighed. "Believe me, it wasn't that easy. I feel drained after that." The Riolu took his gaze off of her and stared at the sight before him. There, in front of his eyes, was a lake. The water shined from the moon's light. In the center was a small island filled with trees. If one looked closer, one could see a small structure on it, presumably made of stone. And from the looks from it, the structure may have been built thousands of years ago.

"Not many come here," she said. Shadow looked back at her. "Though, of course not many pokemon know about it to begin with. I'm surprised you found me here. How did you find me anyway?" He needed to come up with some explanation. Then he spoke.

"I found your aura," he said plainly with no emotion. "Sylveon said earlier that apparently Riolu can sense other pokemon's aura. So with a little concentration…" he rubbed the back of his head. "I was able to focus long enough to find you. Then I came here." He then looked back towards the water. Something about this certain lake resonated with his soul and made him feel weird. "Unfortunately, it was kinda energy draining for me." he sat down. "By the way," he began. "What is this place?"

"Oh, this place?" she said. "It's… well it doesn't really have an official name, but someone once told me that it's called the Lake of the Moone." Shadow pondered this. _Lake of the Moone? Huh, that's an interesting name. I wonder why it's called that. Though this place… it seems, what's the word, hmm, I don't know. This weird feeling of energy seems to come from it. I don't know how to describe it. It feels, natural._

"I come here a lot," she said. Shadow was brought back to reality from his thoughts. "I have some history with this place. Sometimes I came here to relax after a long day, or to let loose some feelings when my day doesn't go well. It's like my second home I guess."

He nodded. Then, Shadow pointed towards the small island. "Have you ever been out there before?" he asked. She followed the direction in which his hand was pointed in. The island. She didn't want to talk about that experience, but she would just answer his question. "Only once," Fennekin answered. "Though, I'd rather not talk about my experience there…"

"I understand," he said plainly, then looked on towards the island. _Hmm,_ he thought. _Could that be the place that Fennekin was traumatized at? Maybe that's why she doesn't want to talk about it. What is over there? I would like to find out someday._

"Shadow?" she asked. He was drawn from his thoughts to her. "Why did you come here? Why did you want to see me?" "Oh that!" he said. "Well actually, I came here to…" he trailed off. Shadow froze. Why couldn't he get the words out of his mouth? Why, why why! Why was there so many things that felt odd to him! He hated it! "To what?" she asked. _Come on Shadow, you can do it, say it! Let go of your pride and say it!_ He pleaded with himself. Finally, as if he broke down a wall in his system…

"To thank you…"

It felt like the floodgates were opened inside of him. It then hit him. His body began to shake. A headache came like the one before he passed out earlier. "Agh!" he cried out, as the upper half of his body collapsed to the ground, meeting up with the other half that was already on the ground.

Fennekin stood up to meet him. "Shadow!" she cried out. He looked up with frantic, quivering, ruby irises. _Please!_ He silently begged. _Not now! I don't want this to happen again!_ Shadow was laying flat out on the ground, with a scared Fennekin hovering over him. Though surprisingly, he didn't pass out. His head was on the ground, with the headache still there.

"Are you alright?" she asked frantically. Fennekin didn't know what to do. There wasn't anything she could do. Not at this moment anyway. "I'm...fine," he answered wearily. His eyes were still closed, but he could hear fine. "Ugh. Why does this happen to me?" he said aloud.

"Did you remember something?" she asked. "No," he stated coldly. "I just keeping having these deja vu instances, and this happens, well not on this scale, but something weird happens." "Was that what happened with you and Tyrantrum?" she asked. _Dang it,_ he thought. _She noticed._

"Yes," he answered. "That felt like someone had said those exact some words to me, but I don't know why. And sometimes, I get a feeling, like for example, now, that I'm doing the opposite of what I should be doing. I don't know why!"

The headache began to dissipate. _Finally!_ He silently exclaimed. Shadow sat up and leaned against the nearest tree. Fennekin was still puzzled. "Why did you want to thank me?" she asked. "For saving me," he said as he opened up his left eye slowly.

She felt embarrassed. It wasn't like anyone to compliment her fighting skills. After all, Fennekin hated to fight anyway. Then she came up with an excuse. "I should be the one to thank you," she said. "You saved me from getting hit with a Mach Punch." "It's, ugh, no big deal." he stated. Shadow was still trying to get up. Then he finally did. Fennekin got up as well.

"To me it's a big deal," she said. "No one ever helped me like that in a long time." "When was the last time?" he asked. But Fennekin never answered Shadow's question. She stared off into the distance. _That day,_ she thought. _When she helped me…_

Shadow figured Fennekin didn't want to talk about it. So he avoided the conversation and spoke about something else. "The moon's getting up there," he said. "We should probably go home." She nodded, though something was still bugging her. "Are you sure you're able to stand?"

"I'm fine," he stated. "I don't need help." With that, the two pokemon began to head home. As they walked, Fennekin spoke. "So does that mean that Tyrantrum let you stay?" she asked. He nodded. "I'm staying in his home for the time being. He said he wanted to speak with me in the morning, so I wonder what he was going to ask me." "Maybe perhaps he is going to introduce you to the rest of the village," she said. "Maybe," he sighed. Shadow would to find out later on.

At last, they had made it to the village. Both pokemon were pretty tired and were looking forward to a nice, comfy, warm bed. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, right?" she said. "Yeah," he answered. "See you tomorrow." With that, the pokemon departed from each other and went home.

Shadow made it to Tyrantrum's home. He found the room that he was in earlier and began to settle in. But before he did that, he noticed a trap door in the ceiling. Reaching for it, he jumped up and was able to grab it, despite how small he was. The door opened, which lead to the roof of the house. He climbed there and stood on the roof.

The stars surrounded him in the night sky. The moon was still rising. It wasn't that late at night. He looked up at the stars and began to think.

 _So much has happened today,_ he thought. _I fell from the sky, forgot who I was, and turned into a pokemon. I also met pokemon and fought those who were trying to hurt them. I've discovered a few things about myself, had deja vu too often, and even got a new home, for now at least._

The moon shined its light on the village, illuminating it to look almost like daytime. He was mystified by it. Tonight, it was full. _The moon looks so different. I wonder why?_ Shadow began to ponder about when happened at the Lake of the Moone, as Fennekin called it. What he didn't notice was that his fur began to glow. _It felt like the lake was calling me. Why? I still have so many questions that I still cannot answer. Why did I fall from the sky? Where did I come from? What was I before. Will I ever be able to go home? And… most importantly…_

 _Who am I?_

* * *

Across the night sky, a giant bat-like pokemon flew. It was dark purple, with golden markings on its wings and body. It scanned the ground below with red, gleaming eyes.

She had not flown through the Gem Continent in a long time. True, Arceus said to stay away, but she wasn't much of a friend to him. Heck, she barely knows Arceus and where he lives anyway. Besides, it's not like she can't handle herself in a dangerous situation.

As she flew, her red eyes gazed upon a village. _Ugh, that village that Rayquaza loves so dearly,_ she thought. _He protects it as best as he can. He should really give up on it. The Continent isn't gonna last long anyway, by the looks of it._

Then, something faint caught her eye. She directed her attention towards something so she could get a better look at it. At last, the bat pokemon saw it. _Could it be?_ She thought. At first she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but then when she stopped in the air to get a better look, there was no mistaking it. A golden glow from on top of one of the houses in the village. _Rayquaza,_ she thought silently. I _take back what I said. You better darn well take care of that village. Only I and a few others know what that thing is…_ She turned to fly off into the night sky.

 _ **He has arrived…**_

* * *

 **Author's Endnote**

 **Finally! Ugh, why did this chapter take me so long? I apologize for the time skip. Even though it's summer vacation, I've been procrastinating on summer school work. Also not to mention I'm getting a new computer and I got wisdom teeth removed yesterday… ouch I've should've posted this chapter earlier. Sorry, this hopefully won't happen again. Now time for some stuff!**

 **I have to be honest with ya, I haven't played many games with Blaze and Silver in it. Sure, I've played Forces, (only Silver is present, not Blaze, so that didn't help) and maybe a bit of '06, but that's it. Out of all the Sonic characters, I think these two are the least familiar with me. Personality wise I mean. I tried going through some info about their personalities, so go ahead and kill me if I got something off. Most of the Sonic games I've played have more Shadow in them, Adventure 2, Heroes, heck even his own game. So we'll see how it goes.**

 **Ah yes, our favorite blue-steel dragon. So we get details on what he is doing and why Palkia is injured. Oooo and there's a meeting with other legendaries? Sounds exciting.**

 **The Lake of the Moone is an actual location in Pokemon Sun/Moon and Pokemon Ultra (cough cough DLC) Sun/Moon. It's where you are able to get a cosmog if, while playing Moon and Ultra Moon, you have Lunala in the party. The way to access is weird, so I won't go into detail. So I wonder who that bat pokemon was at the end? And how does Fennekin have history there? Oooo so many questions. So little answers…**

 **I think I'm heard too much Deja Vu these past couple of weeks XD I feel like every time I write this story, I somehow always find a way for Shadow to get deja vu on multiple occasions. Yes, yes, I know '06 didn't technically happen, but let's just say Arceus is god and somehow Shadow remembers… ok this'll be more explained in more detail later on.**

 **Dang, it's so hard to explain things without revealing them, isn't it? Lastly, tell me what you guys think! Everything is appreciated! I absolutely love reviews! Hope to see you guys soon!**

 **Ooooo there's a Smash Ultimate Direct tomorrow. I wonder if our favorite edgelord is in it?**

 **Anyways, until next time, See Ya Universe!**

 **Palkia**


	8. Ch7 All in a Name

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! It is I Palkia! We are back with Chapter 7 of QFL! So exciting! Anyways, before we get into it…**

 **Infinite's Ruby: Lunala will definitely have a role to play in this, along with the other legendaries. When I first conceived the idea for this story, I wanted to include some Gen 7 pokemon. Mainly the reasons are A. Latest Generation, B. Gen 7 doesn't currently have a Mystery Dungeon game (I hope it does, if not I'm gonna cry) and C. Since a lot of the Pokemon-Sonic Crossovers are a bit older than mine, they (rarely) go up to Gen 6. Sadly I haven't found one with any Gen 7 pokemon in it (which I want to see, cause Sun and Moon are good games, Ultra DLC however, I call it that cause there's like barely any change at all between SM and USUM) But hey, maybe that makes mine the first one with Gen 7 pokemon in it, right? Glad to see you like the mysterious-ness of it!**

 **For this chapter, I think I'm gonna make checking back on Sonic's world no longer a habitual thing. It's not that I don't like writing about the events in His World (see what I did there? XD) I just want some time to pass between said world. For those of you wondering, a few days passed between the time of Shadow "dying" and Shadow falling from the sky. Yes, Arceus was doing the work, but he barely knows how to spatial stuff. Me on the other hand, I can go fast. At least Dialga had my orb. Arceus didn't. Consider the events like this: Prologue was one day, Ch 1 begins that same day and transitions to a few days after. Ch 2-6 were respectively one day. Beginning's always the longest isn't it?**

 **Anyway, enough of me, let's get on with it!**

 **Also I do not own Pokemon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 7**

 **All in a Name**

He slept well that night. There were no dreams, no nightmares, just a calm peaceful sleep. Shadow felt like he hadn't slept that well in a long time. Then again, he was exhausted from the events of the prior day. The bed felt nice and warm, it was so comforting to him.

Shadow had gone to bed after he came down from the roof. Earlier he had remembered that Tyrantrum wanted to speak with him in the morning, so it was best to get some rest. Especially after all the tough and long battles he had, not to mention the injuries.

The Riolu made sure to check and see how they were doing in the morning. Perhaps he could ask either Altaria or Skitty if they had any extra bandages. That way he could change them himself if needed. It's not like they didn't know how to change bandages, he just felt better if he did it himself, for some odd reason.

The sun was beginning to peak through the window of the small room. Dawn was approaching. The rays of the sun reached into the room and shined on the golden Riolu. He was peacefully asleep. The sun's rays warmed him, almost comforted him to say the least. It felt nice. He was definitely enjoying this moment.

Though, his sleep would not last long. The rays of the rising sun had alerted him to what time it was. Dawn. The Riolu slowly opened his eyes, carefully minding that the sun was shining upon him.

Ruby orbs gazed slowly at the wood ceiling. They went from sleepy to questioning. _Where am I?_ He thought. Shadow was laying spread eagle on the bed. That may have been the best sleep he'd gotten in a long time, but he couldn't figure out why. He just felt even more relaxed after sleep than he ever did before. That was when he remembered.

 _Oh, right. This is Tyrantrum's home. He let me sleep here._ Shadow then slowly but carefully hauled himself out of the bed. Looking down, he noticed his chest, arms, and legs. The golden and black markings of fur were still there. _I'm still a Riolu,_ he thought. _So it wasn't a dream after all. I'm still here. In the Pokemon World…_

At first, when he went to bed last night, Shadow thought all of this was a dream. Perhaps he was just actually sleeping in reality and was awake in his own, real-looking dream. Him losing his memory, turning into a pokemon, all of it. It seemed too crazy to be real. Though, it really wasn't, right? Shadow was still here, after all.

Then there was something else he noticed. The bandages. He had forgotten about them. They covered his injuries. Ones not only from the fight with the Weavile gang, but also from his re-entry to the planet. Last time he checked, Shadow thought the burns weren't that terrible to begin with. Though, that may have changed. Maybe they got infected or something. He decided it would be best to check.

He gently began to unravel the bandage around his left arm. Shadow thought it would be best to unwrap the left one first, considering that was the one he used most often, or seemed to use most often. Though he did use his right arm often as well. The Riolu had no idea if he was ambidextrous or simply left eye dominance. He would have to find out later.

The bandage slowly began to unravel. The odd thing was, it didn't look stained or colored or anything. It was just plain white. _My injuries didn't heal that fast, did they?_ He pondered. The bandage was slowly becoming a clean white pile on the floor. None of it looked changed in anyway. Shadow then went back to his arm. The wrapping was coming to its end. More and more of his golden fur began to appear. At last, the end of the bandage fell to the floor. His ruby eyes scanned his left arm, only to be met with shock. His left arm was fully healed.

 _Unbelievable,_ he thought in astonishment. _How can this be? My burns were from falling from the sky! Even they couldn't have healed that fast, right?_ Shadow began to undo the bandage on his right arm. Another pile of clean, white bandages formed on the floor. He was then met again with a clean, unharmed, golden furred arm. _No way,_ he thought in desperation and excitement.

Shadow then frantically went for the bandage around his legs. Two more piles of clean bandages hit the floor. It was if they were never used. His ruby eyes were met with clean black fur. He moved his legs up and down, testing to see if they were okay. They were. At last, he went for the bandage that was wrapped around his chest and back. When he unraveled it, the clean white cloth hit the floor just like the others. At last, his entire body was bandage-free…

...And fully healed.

 _All of my burns… they're gone!_ He thought frantically. _What do I do? Just tell Altaria and Skitty that when I took the bandages off, my injuries were healed? Are they even up yet?_ He couldn't go to those two now. They were probably asleep. Then, another thought came to his mind. Tyrantrum. Maybe he would know something.

Shadow ran out of his room, closing the door behind him. He left the clean pile of bandages behind. The Riolu ran around the house, searching for the village elder. He couldn't find him. _Maybe he's still asleep,_ he thought. However, Shadow was quickly proven wrong when he knocked on the village elder's door and peeked inside. Tyrantrum was nowhere to be seen.

 _I can feel his aura nearby,_ he thought. _Then where is he?_ Shadow closed the door to the village elder's room and left. The halls were quiet that morning, save for the padding of the Riolu's feet across the wood floor. It felt slippery, like someone could skate across it.

 _Hmm,_ he thought. _I wonder if I could…_ He decided to test it. For some reason, he wanted to skate across the slippery wood floor. It was just so tempting. Shadow stopped in front of a long hallway in the house. _This might work._ He got into a running stance. Then, he launched himself forward.

To him, it seemed like skating was so easy. Left foot glide, then right foot glide. Left foot, then right foot. This repeated. How was he able to do this so easily? If he lost his memory, then wouldn't he have forgotten how to do this? Shadow didn't know. Now, it seemed a bit more than familiar. This was…fun. He enjoyed this. Though Shadow couldn't understand which was more fun to do; run or skate?

Maybe that's why he was questioning why he had bare feet earlier. Could he have been skating or running beforehand? There must be a reason why he is able to run/skate fast. With or without shoes.

Shadow already reached the end of the hallway. The door that lead to outside was right near him. _I have to admit, that was pretty fun._ He definitely enjoyed himself when he did that. _I wonder if I could do that on ice?_ Though Shadow knew he would have to wait for it to get extremely colder than it was now in order to do that.

Judging by the area when he first arrived, the leaves on the trees were green. The water wasn't freezing cold by that waterfall. The temperature was relatively warm, with a bit of a chill in the breeze. Not to mention the longevity of the sun during the day yesterday, which was long but not as long as it could be, say during June or July. So he assumed it was at least during the late summer/early fall. When exactly he did not know. So he wouldn't have to wait that long for winter. _Winter,_ he thought. _Would I ever be able to get home by that point?_

A strange feeling went through him. _Tyrantrum,_ he thought. _He must be outside._ Opening the door, his eyes gazed through the village. None of the lights were on in any of the houses. They all must still be asleep. Shadow's eyes then focused on the center of the the village. There, in the flesh, was Tyrantrum.

"Morning Tyrantrum!" he called out, somewhat loudly, but not loud enough to wake anyone. Though the village elder heard this. His gaze turned to the source of the voice. It was Shadow. _Good,_ Tyrantrum thought. _He's awake._ "Good morning Shadow," he said in return.

The golden Riolu ran over to him to see what he was looking at. Then he realized what it was. The broken Emerald Shrine. The one Fennekin accidently ran into yesterday. " I have great news," Shadow said. "I removed the bandages this morning and I couldn't believe it. All the burns are healed!" This surprised Tyrantrum. With the burns that Shadow obtained, he would've thought that it would take a while to heal. Normally pokemon don't heal that fast. Unless they had special treatment. All Shadow got was bandages, nothing else.

"That's good to hear," he said to Shadow. Tyrantrum turned his gaze back to the shrine. "You said you wanted to talk about something with me?" the Riolu asked. "Yes," he answered. Then he pointed at the shrine. "It's about this." "The shrine?" Shadow questioned. Tyrantrum nodded.

Unbeknownst to them, two certain pokemon were already awake. Monferno and Electrike hid behind one of the houses and listened in on the conversation. They peaked to see what was going on. "Hey isn't that…?" Electrike trailed off. Monferno was getting a bit angry with the situation. "Glowstick… is talking with old Tyrantrum?!" he whispered in anger. "Looks like he let him stay in the village," Electrike noted. "This should be fun," Monferno replied.

"Is this about yesterday?" the Riolu asked. The village elder shook his head. "Not exactly Shadow," he answered. "It's more about the situation the shrine is currently in than yesterday's event."

Monferno wanted to laugh so hard at this. Shadow? That idiot's name is Shadow?! Oh if only he could laugh! Though if he did, him and Electrike would be discovered. Then Electrike spoke to him. "Why are we here anyways?" he quietly asked. "I just wanted to get some information," Monferno said plainly. "We're done here. Let's go." The pokemon silently walked away.

Or at least they tried to walk away. That is, until a Bone Rush landed right in front of Monferno. "Gah!" they both screamed as they jumped back. Unfortunately, they didn't land in the most perfect way, and instead landed on their stomachs. "Oww," they groaned. "What was that?" Electrike said. He, as well as Monferno, looked up to the source of the Bone Rush. The golden Riolu himself stood over them.

"What are you two doing here?" he said sternly. "None of your business, Glowstick!" Monferno scoffed. He and Electrike got to their feet. Now Monferno stood over Shadow. Though the Riolu didn't feel intimidated. "First of all, that's not my name!" he glared. "And second, you were spying on us!"

"It's not like your actual name is any better!" Monferno scoffed. "Who names someone like you 'Shadow'? It absolutely doesn't fit you!" The Riolu thought about those words. They hit him hard. However, he decided to ignore it. There was still the matter at hand. "It's not my fault I was named that!" he growled. "Besides, you're getting away from the subject. Why were you spying on us?"

"Well, whoever named you must've been an idiot," Monferno scoffed. Shadow growled lowly. Then, something inside him snapped and he lunged at the monkey pokemon, pinning him down. Electrike jumped back, letting a growl escape his mouth, sparks flying around his body. Monferno's brown, frightened eyes gazed back into Shadow's ruby, raged filled ones.

"Take that back!" he growled. Monferno look pleased. He was able to rile him up. Though Shadow on the other hand, was really ticked off.

Even though he wasn't able to remember, it felt like the person who named him was really important to him. I mean, the person who gave you your identity is important, right? But this just felt, beyond that. Nothing could explain to Shadow why this person was important. He just knew.

The monkey pokemon scoffed. "And why should I?" he inquired. "Is that someone really important to you?" Shadow's eyes widened. He had no clue. His memory was gone, so he didn't remember anyone before he arrived here. Was this person really important?

He began to stutter. "I...I…" Shadow said. His grip on Monferno loosened. He let out a sad sigh as he pulled back. Electrike's sparks faded away. Though the scowl on his and Monferno's face was still there as they looked at the Riolu.

"I don't know," Shadow finally admitted. His eyes were full of sadness. "I wish I knew." Now he understood why Fennekin hated them so much. Shadow couldn't even imagine the type of pain she went through almost every day of her life.

"Alight that's enough!" a voice roared. The three pokemon turned to the source. Tyrantrum. The village elder had been watching the entire thing. "Monferno! Electrike! I want you two to leave! Now!"

"Nyh!" they both cried. "We're outta here!" Both of them ran away in fear to their homes. _Those two are real troublemakers sometimes,_ he thought. Then he sighed. Tyrantrum turned back to the golden Riolu. "Shadow?" He asked. Though he was only to be met with sadness.

If one looked plainly, there was nothing wrong with the Riolu. However, when you looked deeper, one could see the turmoil Shadow was going through, trying to not let any emotions show. It was so hard for him to let those words go. Shadow didn't know why. He wanted to cry. He _needed_ to cry. But, at the same time, he couldn't. Not in front of Tyrantrum.

The village elder began to speak. "Do not let them get to you," he said. Shadow looked in bewilderment at Tyrantrum. He sniffled a bit. "I know I shouldn't but… it's just hard." "I understand," the village elder said. "Though, I have a feeling that this is connected." "What do you mean?" Shadow asked.

"Unfortunately, the village does not get a ton of news from the other continents," Tyrantrum began. "We are very isolated." Shadow questioned this. _There are other continents? I wonder if I can go see them one day. Perhaps I can find answers._

"I have heard stories from pokemon who occasionally make it to here," he continued. "Many centuries ago, an evil known as Dark Matter plagued the world. It was made up of all the negative feelings and emotions that came from pokemon. It gradually took over, and, it set this planet towards the sun."

"What?" asked Shadow. Feelings and emotions taking a form? To him, it sounded weird, almost like a joke in fact. And how could those feelings take the planet into the sun? There was so much he had to learn still.

"Under the influence of Dark Matter was the legendary pokemon Yveltal," Tyrantrum said. _Legendary pokemon?_ Shadow thought. "What's a legendary pokemon?" he asked. "They're extremely rare pokemon with incredible capabilities." Tyrantrum explained. "Some have control over life and death, land and sea, even time and space. Yveltal controls death. With Dark Matter, it was able to turn pokemon into stone, send them into a lifeless void."

Shadow felt a chill at those words. Yveltal, the pokemon of death. Thinking about that thing turning him into stone was haunting. Though, what really intrigued him was legendary pokemon. _Tyrantrum said there are pokemon of time and space right?_ He thought. _If what I think I remember is true, then I come from a different world. Maybe this pokemon of space can help me…_

"All the legendaries, with the exception a few of them, fought Dark Matter and tried to keep it from directing the planet into the sun, in which it used the Tree of Life to do so, by dragging it into space," the village elder said. "Sadly, however, they were all turned to stone. Many lost hope and the planet was doomed."

"I'm guessing this 'Tree of Life' gives life right?" Shadow asked. Tyrantrum nodded. "It gives life to our planet, but with it removed, the planet no longer spun and was thus beginning to head into the sun." "But the planet is still here. How was it stopped?" he asked.

"Two pokemon were able to stop it," Tyrantrum answered. "One was a reincarnation of the legendary pokemon Mew. The other…" He trailed off. Shadow was clueless. "The other was what?" he asked. The Riolu wanted to know. This story was very interesting, but at the same time, horrifying. To think that this world, could've gone into the sun. The thought internally chilled him to the bone.

"A human."

"A human?!" he exclaimed. "But how? How is that even possible?" Then he began to think about it. Tyrantrum said pokemon. So did that mean that the human was turned into a pokemon? Now he understood what Tyrantrum meant by this being connected. From what Shadow was told, he and this human have a similar origin. Both were turned into pokemon and came from another world.

"Do you think the event that happened a centuries ago and now are connected?" Shadow then asked. "I do not know," Tyrantrum admitted. "News does not come here that often. The village is secluded. None of the Dark Matter incidents happened here for some odd reason. At this point, I believe they're just tales. No one today was alive then, except for the legendary pokemon. But the mention of a human coming here seemed odd."

 _Perhaps it wasn't true then,_ Shadow silently thought. _Maybe it is just a story._ "When I first heard your story, I thought about that centuries old story," Tyrantrum began again. "But, when I heard that you weren't human, my assumptions were wrong. But… it does leave the speculation."

The village elder then turned in the direction of the Emerald Shrine and headed towards it. Shadow followed him. Then, they stood in front of the crumbled pillar. "On the topic of legendary pokemon," Tyrantrum said. "Our village, the Emerald Village, worships three legendary pokemon," "So they are like deities?" Shadow asked. Tyrantrum nodded.

"We know those three as the pokemon of weather: Groudon, the Continent pokemon, the one who forms the land and helps bring the heat. Kyogre, the Sea Basin pokemon, the one who forms the seas and brings the rain. And lastly, Rayquaza, the Sky High pokemon, the one who brings calm weather and calms the wrath between the two previous pokemon."

"I overheard Monferno saying about Rayquaza unleashing his fury on the village when he finds out the shrine is broken," Shadow said. "At least, that was what he said to Fennekin." _Could Rayquaza unleash destruction on the village? All because of one accident? No wonder Tyrantrum was concerned._

"Well," Tyrantrum began. "We don't exactly know if that'll happen. But Rayquaza would be rather upset. The Emerald Shrine was built thousands of years ago, before any mention of that 'Dark Matter' story. The reason it was built was because it was supposed to honor the three weather pokemon. Though, Groudon and Kyogre never see the village. Only Rayquaza does."

"What do you mean by 'Only Rayquaza does?'" Shadow asked. "Once every year, towards the end of fall, a meteor shower occurs. It is called the Litleonid Meteor Shower. Our village has a festival around Rayquaza, because during this time, he feeds on the meteors and Pokémon called Minior that fly through space. And, he flies over the village, making sure that we are respecting the three weather pokemon."

"When is that festival?" Shadow asked. If the festival was really close, then they would really be in trouble. Though, if it already passed, then they would have plenty of time. "About a month from now," he answered. "The timeframe worries me a bit. But what really worries me is…"

"Morning Shadow!" a voice called. He turned around, his eyes widening as he recognized that voice. Shadow forgot all about the events with Monferno and Electrike as he saw who it was. Fennekin.

"Hey Fennekin!" he called back. The fox pokemon was running in their direction. Finally, she stopped in front of them. "You got some sleep right?" she asked. "Actually, it felt like I hadn't slept that well in like months!" Shadow explained.

Tyrantrum was glad to hear this. At least Shadow was able to settle in well, considering the events of yesterday were pretty hectic. The golden Riolu was certainly growing accustomed to the village. Though, he still didn't know everything.

"Morning Tyrantrum," Fennekin said, greeting the village elder. "Good morning Fennekin," the village elder answered her. "Um Tyrantrum?" she asked. "What is it Fennekin?"

"Well, I was going to come over your home to see if you were awake," she said. "But since you are here, I wanted to ask you something. Is it alright if I show Shadow around the village today? It's his first time staying here and if he's going to be here awhile then he might as well get to know everyone."

"Hmm," Tyrantrum hummed. It wouldn't be such a bad idea for Shadow to get to know everyone. He might be able to learn more about the village as well. Though, Tyrantrum wanted to continue what he was going to say about the shrine. Once he thought back to it, it might be better for the entire village to know the situation at hand. Plus, it would be best for the villagers not to question why a _shiny_ Riolu is walking around the village.

"Tyrantrum," he heard Shadow say. "Wasn't there something you wanted to speak to me about?" "Yes, but we can hold it off until later." he assured the Riolu. "You may go with Fennekin."

"Thank you!" she exclaimed. Then Fennekin began to run off. "Come on Shadow! You don't want to miss anything!" Shadow then turned around. "Ahh! Hey, wait for me!" With that, he used his speed to run off to catch up with her. Soon, they were out of sight.

The village elder looked in the direction they headed in and smiled. "Hehe," he chuckled. "Perhaps something new is starting. Though…" He then focused his gaze on the broken shrine. "They must all know soon. Time is running out."

* * *

"I'll show you my house first!" Fennekin exclaimed. He nodded at her. Shadow had caught up to her, thanks to his speed. Now, they were walking towards some of the houses in the Emerald Village. More specifically, Fennekin's home.

She wanted Shadow to get to know everyone in the village. This was just so no one thought it was strange for him to be there. Of course, a few of the villagers knew he was around, that being Sylveon, Eevee, Altaria, Skitty, Vaporeon, and of course, Monferno and Electrike. And obviously Fennekin.

"My mom and dad live in my house," she said. "I don't really have any other family besides them. But, I'm very grateful I have them!" _Family,_ Shadow thought. _Do I have a family? If I do, then they must be very worried about me. But… what if I don't? I must have someone, right? There must be someone out there who cares about my well being._

Then they came up to a small wood-style house. There were a few torches on the side of it, along with different fire elements that were added to the house. It was a relatively round shape, compared to Tyrantrum's long, rectangular home.

Fennekin knocked on the door a couple a times. A few seconds later, the door opened. "Come on," she said, gesturing to the door. "I want you to meet my family!" She began to walk inside. Shadow nodded to her, and began to follow, until…

A brush of wind blew past him, knocking him onto the ground. "Ahh!" he cried out, as Shadow felt himself lose his balance and fall. He hit the ground with a thud. Even if it was wind, it didn't feel like wind. It felt, almost like, aura? Stunned by the fall, Shadow looked around to see where the source of the aura came from.

But no one was there…

 _Strange,_ Shadow thought. _That wind I felt just now. It felt like aura. Though… no one's here… It felt so familiar too. Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me._ He decided to shrug it off and head inside Fennekin's home.

"Mom! Dad! I'm back!" He heard Fennekin's voice call. Shadow looked around the house. It was small, with a living area and what appeared to be three doors down a small hall, where, he presumed, her family slept. Two of those doors opened. What came out of the first one was a tall, red and orange, fox-like Pokémon with long red tufts in its ears. The other door opened and a tall, black and red, fox-like Pokémon with a long black mane with red-highlighted spikes.

"Morning Fennekin," the black and red furred fox said. "Did you go out early today? And who's that with you?" "Dad, Mom," she began. "This is Shadow, the Riolu I told you about? The one who helped me yesterday." The two taller pokemon looked over at the Riolu standing behind their daughter. For one thing, they were surprised that a Riolu was even on the Gem Continent, but they were surprised at the fact that it was a _shiny_ Riolu.

"You're Shadow, aren't you?" the orange and yellow fox asked. "Yes, that's my name," Shadow answered. He said it in sort of a happy tone, but there was a hint of sadness in there. The mentioning of his own name brought him back to the conversation he had with Monferno. Though, he pushed it aside for now.

"Oh my," she said. "Where are my manners? Let me introduce myself. My name is Delphox. I'm Fennekin's mother." Then, the black and red Pokémon stepped forward. "And my name is Zoroark. I'm Fennekin's father." "Nice to meet you," he answered them. Though, something about her father threw Shadow off.

It wasn't exactly his personality or anything, it was more so the color of the pokemon's fur that made him uneasy. Black and red. Why did those colors seem familiar to him? For a second, Shadow thought he saw the colors flash on him. It was like those colors belonged on him. Heck, he was named Shadow and his fur was golden. For him to have black fur made sense. Though, the red part of the equation felt odd to him. He decided to put it back for now, as Delphox began to speak.

"Shadow, we want to thank you, for all that you've done." Delphox said. Shadow almost blushed at the statement, but he kept it hidden. He knew what they were going to say, but Shadow knew he had to ask. He put a questioning look on his face. "What for?" He asked.

"For saving our daughter," replied Zoroark. "And for helping those in the village, especially Tyrantrum. It is good to see him back as his old self again." Shadow felt happy. He had done something good. Well, he didn't really like getting praised, but just the fact by what he did made others happy, it made him feel so… strange.

 _That feeling is back,_ Shadow thought. _Like I have done something the opposite of what I should be doing. I'm starting to hate this feeling more and more…_

"Without you, Shadow, Fennekin would've been very injured." Delphox said. "Both Zoroark and I are very grateful for you. If you need anything from us, come and talk to us. Zoroark happens to be a very fine gem collector." He looked over to see Zoroark slightly blushing in embarrassment.

"We can't stay long," Fennekin said to her parents. "Tyrantrum wanted me to introduce Shadow to everyone else in the village. I'll be back for dinner." She wanted to reassure them, considering the fact at how troublesome she knew she could be. "Okay Fennekin, just be home by that time," Zoroark answered her.

She began to walk towards the door. "Come on Shadow!" she said to a slightly dazed Shadow. He was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard his name. They were leaving already? He didn't even bother asking why. Shadow just guessed that there were more to see in the village.

In a few moments, there were out the door. Delphox looked at Zoroark. "Such a nice young pokemon isn't he?" she said. Zoroark nodded to that. "I feel something different about him, however." "I agree," Delphox answered. "I just hope Fennekin doesn't get him in lots of trouble. Though, I do feel a bit happier that he's here for some odd reason…" Both of them felt more relaxed when he was there. It was as if their fears and worries that came from darkness faded away in an instant.

As they left however, Shadow felt something was odd about the way Fennekin was to her parents. _She seemed like she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible,_ he thought. _Why though? Her parents seemed like they really cared about her. But if they love her, then why did she act the way she did?_

The rest of the house visits went without problems. Shadow and Fennekin visited the Eeveelution sibling household, probably the second biggest house in the village only to Tyrantrum's house. _I didn't think Sylveon had that many siblings,_ Shadow thought. _Two is fine, at least I think, but seven?_

Oh he met all of them. Of course, Shadow already knew Sylveon and Eevee. Eevee is the youngest in the family, out of the seven siblings. Leafeon is the second youngest. When they got there, Shadow saw her drawing on a sketchbook, although he wasn't able to make it what it was considering it wasn't done, he assumed it was a bunch of trees or something in nature. _Leafeon is the artist in the family,_ he thought.

The third youngest was Flareon. _The hothead,_ Shadow reminded himself. The fire Eeveelution sibling was definitely one who enjoyed battle, even showing himself off when Shadow came in. Fourth youngest was Jolteon. From what Shadow noticed, Jolteon seemed to be the one interested in science. In his point of view, the Riolu noticed some sort of gadget that the electric pokemon seemed to be working on. But enough of that.

Sylveon is next. Of course, he already knew some things about her to begin with. Vaporeon is the next in line after Sylveon. When he got in there with Fennekin, the entire conversation began with all the siblings thanking Shadow for everything that he done. He also found out more about Vaporeon. Even though Vaporeon isn't the oldest in the family, he still acts like a big brother to those who are younger than him. He also enjoys water, and travels a lot to the Sapphire Sea. Shadow kept that in mind, just in case he ever wanted to leave the continent and find someone who may know him.

Espeon is the second oldest in the family. She is the big sister figure other than Sylveon. The psychic pokemon absolutely loves the daytime. Heck, Espeon loves to cook. The amount of time Shadow and Fennekin spent lasted to about lunchtime, and so to show her gratitude for all the Riolu had done for Vaporeon, Sylveon, and Eevee, she allowed him to stay for lunch.

Umbreon is the oldest in the family. He takes care of them. Though, Umbreon has his own interests as well. He loves the nighttime, and is the village's astronomer. Out of all of the Eeveelution siblings, he was the most grateful for Shadow finding Eevee. He had said that the Riolu was welcome in their household anytime.

After lunch, the two pokemon left to see the rest of the houses. Though, something caught Shadow's attention. There, almost outside the village near the entrance, was an old wooden sign. Out of instinct and curiosity, he ran over to the blank sign. Fennekin, just feeling the breeze flow through her, turned around and noticed that Shadow was gone.

"Shadow!" she cries out. "Where did you go?!" He turned when he heard his name. Slightly embarrassed the Riolu called back to her. "I'm over here! Sorry!" Hearing his voice, Fennekin saw where he was. With that, she ran to him.

Once Fennekin caught up, she noticed the thing he was staring at. "What is this?" He asked, pointing to the blank wooden board. She didn't say anything for a few seconds. The Riolu noticed this and regretted asking. _Maybe I shouldn't have asked her,_ he thought.

"This is the request board," she stated. "Basically it means that Pokémon who are in trouble put their requests here." Fennekin didn't go any further. Shadow wanted to question this, but judging by the look on Fennekin's face, he didn't want to ask. Maybe later he would ask. "Oh," he said. _Why would pokemon leave their requests here?_ Shadow wondered.

The rest of the day was spent visiting the village Pokémon. Unfortunately, they had to take a stop at Monferno's home, though they didn't stay long. Then, they stopped by Electrike's home. Though, the atmosphere wasn't as cheerful as the rest of the houses.

"Hello?" Fennekin called into the house. "Fennekin?" A voice called. "Manectric, where are you?" Fennekin asked. "Over here, with Electrike," she called back. The two Pokémon walked into the next room. There, on the bed, was a slightly burned Electrike. On either side of the bed was two other Pokémon. One had blue and yellow fur and walked on all fours. The other had black and blue fur, with long spiky hair, and also walked on all fours. They noticed their presence as soon as they entered the room.

"Fennekin, thanks for coming, and… who is that with you?" The blue and black furred Pokémon asked. "Oh!" She answered. "This is Shadow, I was showing him around the village." "Hello," he said. "Pleasure to meet you Shadow," the yellow and blue furred Pokémon said. "My name is Manectric, and over there is Luxray."

"Did we come at a bad time?" Shadow asked. "No," Luxray answered. "Actually, we may need your help." Fennekin's eyes beamed in excitement. "We'll help you out!" she said enthusiastically.

 _She didn't even ask me if I wanted to do it,_ Shadow thought. _I mean, I want to help anyway, but that situation… it reminds me of someone…_

"I agree, both of us will help you," Shadow answered. "Thank you," Manectric said. "We need a Rawst Berry in order to cure Electrike's burn. Altaria and Skitty might have some." "Is there anything else?" Shadow asked. "No, we only need a Rawst Berry," _This world surprises me even more,_ Shadow thought. _I didn't think a single berry could heal very bad wounds. And from the looks of Electrike, he got some decently bad ones. Not as bad as mine, but still. I wonder how he got them? I'll have have to ask later._

"We'll head over to Altaria's home right now!" Fennekin assured them. With that, the two Pokémon walked out of the house, with a new task at hand. Reaching one of the smaller houses in the village, Fennekin knocked on the door.

"Altaria! Skitty! Anyone home?" She called. "Come in!" Skitty called on the other side. She opened the door and Fennekin and Shadow walked in. Then they heard another voice. "Hello Fennekin! Hello Shadow! How are you two doing?" It was Altaria. "We were wondering if you had any Rawst Berries." Fennekin said. "Electrike needs one because he's got a burn."

"I'm afraid we don't," Altaria said. "We used the last ones a few days ago. If we had any, we would've used them on…" She was about to mention Shadow when she noticed something different about him. His bandages were gone. Golden fur had grown in where the burns used to be.

"Oh my! Shadow, how did your burns heal already?" She exclaimed. "Oh that," he said. "I, uh well, to be honest with you, I don't really know. I woke up this morning to see if I could change the bandages, and this happened!" He gestured to the areas that were once burned, but are now healed. "I don't know how it happened!" He exclaimed nervously.

Shadow had every reason to be nervous. There was so many things he was just discovering about himself. Super speed, glowing fur, now super healing abilities? What's next, super strength?

"Well, the good news is that you're healed," Skitty reassured him. "But let's not focus on that now. We need to find some Rawst Berries."

Something clicked in his head. _Where can we find a bunch of berries?_ He wondered. Shadow tries thinking back. Then he remembered something Vaporeon said yesterday. " _Weavile and Sneasel have opened up Mist Forest for berry gathering!" That's it!_ He thought.

"Mist Forest!" He said. " Weavile said that the forest is open to us if we ever need any herbs or berries!" "It's not too far from here," Fennekin noted. "If any place has Rawst Berries, it would definitely be Mist Forest." She started to become excited at the fact of journeying to a Mystery Dungeon.

"Why don't you two head out there?" Altaria said. "We have some stuff to take care of here. Skitty and I would join, but there are still things to do." "It's alright," Fennekin said. "Shadow knows Weavile, so I'm sure he'll be glad to see us."

"You better head out now," Skitty said. It's getting close to the middle of the afternoon already." _The day went by that fast?_ Shadow thought. _Wow, time really does fly doesn't it?_

"We'll get going then," he said. The Riolu turned his gaze to Fennekin. "Let's go then." He could notice that she was very excited. _Why is she happy about this? We're just getting some Rawst Berries. It's just a chore. And yet, to her it's not. I feel that there is more to her than a lot of Pokémon think._ With that, Shadow and Fennekin closed the door to Altaria's home.

* * *

It wasn't that far to Mist Forest. Though, he remembered that the last time he came from there, it took almost a half an hour just to reach the village from there. To there and from there would probably be an hour at the least. _Not enough time for Fennekin to get home in time,_ he thought.

 _Something must have happened between her and her parents. But… they seemed so nice. I could feel it in their aura. Maybe it has something to do with that event Tyrantrum mentioned yesterday._

He remembered that some sort of traumatizing event happened in Fennekin's life. What said event even was is still a mystery, even to Tyrantrum and Fennekin's parents. She wouldn't tell anyone. Though, she said something about the Lake of the Moone.

 _Fennekin said that she was out there before,_ Shadow thought. _But how? There didn't appear to be any bridge to it. So how…_ Then his thoughts were interrupted.

"You okay, Shadow?" Fennekin asked. He was then snapped back into reality. "I'm fine," the Riolu answered in an emotionless tone. He decided to change the subject. Shadow just didn't want her to ask anything about what he was thinking about.

"When do you have to be home by?" He asked. "Oh no!" She said. "I forgot about that! I have to be home soon, but…" Her expression changed from a frantic one to a saddened one. "But Electrike needs the…" she trailed off.

"I'll get it," he said. "Why don't you go home?" "But…" She said in reply. "It's fine," he reassured her. "Weavile knows me. I can get there in no time at all." "Alright," Fennekin said sadly, and began to walk home. Shadow, on the other hand, ran fast in the opposite direction.

 _Was it something I said?_ Shadow thought. _Fennekin seemed upset when she went home. I have no idea why. For some reason she doesn't feel like anyone else in the village. I think she's hiding something…_

He raced all the way to Mist Forest. Said Forest was foggy as usual. Though, it didn't really matter to him, considering his fur started to illuminate the area around him. Reaching the middle was no challenge at all. One thing was on his mind as he walked through the forest.

 _Tyrantrum acted the same way as Weavile and Sneasel,_ he thought. _Both were very aggressive and attacked, and then when they were defeated, none had a clue on what had happened. Maybe… they're connected…_

"Weavile!" Shadow called. " Sneasel! Are you there? I need your help!" A soft rustling was heard in one of the bushes. The Riolu didn't feel scared or intimidated by it. Suddenly, a shadow leaped in front of him from above. Weavile.

"Good to see you Shadow," he said. "Have you come here for berries?" The Riolu nodded. "Do you have an Rawst berries?" He asked. "A Pokémon I know got burned and unfortunately the village is out of them."

"Of course!" Weavile said. "Sneasel! Could you go grab some Rawst berries? It's for Shadow." "On it!" Shadow heard the Sneasel call back. He heard rustling in the bushes, and then silence.

"So, how you doing?" He asked the Riolu. "Things are a bit hard getting used to, I guess," Shadow answered. "Everything feels so different. I'm staying in the village for now." "Well, if you're staying in the Emerald Village," Weavile began. "Then let them know that anyone from there is welcome to come and take some berries." "Thanks Weavile," he said. "I'll be sure to let them know."

A smoky smell entered the air. For Shadow, it smelled like something was being roasted. He didn't understand why, but that smell seemed so familiar. The Riolu liked it.

"Weavile," he said. "What's that smell? It smells like something's…" "Being roasted?" He answered. Shadow nodded. "Yeah about that. After you left we found some odd seeds. Unfortunately they weren't that tasty, so we decided to try roasting them. They actually taste pretty good."

"You mind if I try a couple?" The Riolu asked. "I want to see what they taste like." "You are welcome to do that," Weavile answered. He lead the golden Riolu deeper into the forest.

An orange light could be seen through the trees. _They must be roasting them over a fire,_ Shadow thought. He could see one of the Sneasel holding a small pan over the fire. It had brown roasted beans in them.

Sneasel took a few of the roasted beans out of the pan and gave them to Weavile, who then handed them to Shadow. The Riolu took the roasted beans in between his paws and smelled them. _They smell so familiar… yet I don't know why they do. But, if I'm from a different world, then how would something here be familiar to me?_

He then decided to try one. The golden Riolu placed one of the beans in his mouth and ate it. His eyes lit up in excitement. They were so good!

"Well, What do you think?" Weavile asked. Shadow had a joyful look on his face. For some reason, these beans brought him the familiar sense of nostalgia. Though he couldn't place why. But he had to tell Weavile how good they were.

"They're great!" Shadow replied, and instantly began to munch on the rest. "They're delicious! And crunchy!" "We're glad you like it!" Weavile said in excitement.

A rustling was heard from one of the bushes, and a Sneasel came out. He was carrying some light blue berries. They didn't look at all like the Oran Berries Shadow previously saw.

"Found some Weavile!" Sneasel said happily. He then gave them to Shadow. "Thanks Sneasel," the Riolu replied. "And thank you too Weavile for the… uh what do you call them?"

"Hmm," Weavile mumbled. "How about Pokebeans?" "That's a great name!" Sneasel said. "Well, thank you for the pokebeans." Shadow answered, and began to head home. "Be sure to come back now!" Weavile yelled. "I will!" Shadow yelled. With that, the Riolu raced off out of sight.

* * *

When he returned to the village, he saw that the sun was beginning to set. _Time flies, doesn't it?_ He thought. Once he arrived back, the Riolu immediately delivered a Rawst Berry to Electrike's home. His parents were very grateful. Shadow was glad he was able to help out. Only, one thing has bugged him.

He found out how Electrike got those burns. Monferno. The mention of the Pokémon brought up some bad memories of this morning. Deciding he would deal with that later, he then left the house and headed towards Altaria's place, and gave her the rest of the Rawst Berries from Mist Forest. They were glad to have some.

By the time he got all of this done, the sun was beginning to set. He headed home to Tyrantrum's home, where the village elder and some food awaited him. The Riolu had to admit that the dinosaur Pokémon was pretty good at cooking.

In exchange for Tyrantrum's food, Shadow told him of his adventures that occurred throughout the day. Once hearing this, the village elder was pleased at what Shadow has done. From meeting the village Pokémon to helping out Electrike's family, Tyrantrum was definitely proud. Only, one thing begin to confuse him. It was when the golden Riolu ask him a specific question.

"Tyrantrum," Shadow asked. "Do you know anything about the Lake of the Moone?" It was something that Shadow wanted to asked about all day. The way the lake felt so familiar to him, not to mention that Fennekin had been there before, made him want to know about it even more. Perhaps it had a connection to his past.

To this, Tyrantrum asked him this. "Why do you ask?" Then, the Riolu answered. "Well, that's where I found Fennekin last night, and she seemed to have history with that place. I was wondering if you knew anything about it." Shadow specifically left out the whole, the lake resonated with his soul part, because, A: it sounded weird and B: Tyrantrum probably couldn't explain it anyway.

For Tyrantrum, this meant a lot of things. If Fennekin has history with this place, then that might have been what caused her trauma in the first place. He sort of knew of the legends that surrounded that place, though the mysteries of it couldn't exactly be true, considering the legend was thousands of years old.

"Well," he began. "There is a lot of mystery surrounding that lake. Nobody knows exactly what is on that island out there. Some say a legendary Pokémon lives there. Others say the spirits of ancient Pokémon are there. The real factual story of that place is unclear, thanks to thousands of years. We would be able to find out, however there's only one thing keeping us from getting there."

"You see, Shadow, there is some mysterious force that keeps some away from the lake,especially that island. Some have tried to swim across, only for a storm to come in and push them back. Heck, some can't even find the lake itself. For you to find it, not to mention Fennekin…"

"Wait," Shadow said. "If some can't even get to the island, then how come Fennekin was able to?" Tyrantrum became shocked by this. Fennekin was able to _swim_ to the island?!

"She did what!?" Tyrantrum roared. Shadow covered his ears. "She said that she went to the island, and that she had bad experiences there," Shadow said. He could see the shock on the village elder's face. _Maybe I shouldn't have told him this,_ he thought.

"Did Fennekin tell you anything else?" He asked. The Riolu shook his head. "No," he said sadly. "Thank you for sharing," Tyrantrum said. "Now, why don't you go to bed. It's getting late."

He was right. The sun had set. The night was beginning to show itself. Shadow sighed. "Yeah, I'm kinda tired anyway." He got up from the table and began to walk towards his room. "Night Tyrantrum," he said.

"Before you go Shadow," Tyrantrum said. He handed something to the golden Riolu. It was a brown-leathered book. Shadow opened it up. In it were blank pieces of paper with lines, and also completely blank pages. It was a journal.

"Take it," he stated. "I once heard that if you write, it might bring back your memories." Shadow took the brown leathered book in his paws. _This might help me,_ he thought. _So much has been happening lately, that it's gone by in a blur. If I write in this, then maybe it'll help me get my memory back or, in case I lose it again, then I'll know who I am…_

"Thank you," he stated. "And good night Tyrantrum. See you in the morning." With that the Riolu headed for his room, closed the door, and knelt beside it. He could hear the elder's footsteps echo through the door until they stopped. With that, the Riolu opened his window, jumped through it, and raced off into the distance.

In a short amount of time, he had reached the Lake of the Moone. The Riolu didn't know why, but he felt very drawn to this place. The calmness of the night echoed through his ears. A soft, cool wind blew through the area. It was a sign that summer was coming to a close and fall would be soon arriving.

Shadow looked down at the journal and then to the lake itself. In its waters he could see his own reflection. It still shocked him that he was like this. Though, he was beginning to be accustomed to this new form. Yet, the Riolu had no knowledge of his previous form, so he couldn't exactly judge.

 _I want to find out who I am,_ he thought. _And today proved that there are pokemon that are willing to help me pursue my goal._ He then took his gaze off of his reflection, and looked at the island in the center of the lake. What he heard from both Fennekin and Tyrantrum confused him even more.

 _Tyrantrum made it sound like only a few knew about this place,_ he thought. _Not to mention the fact that I was able to find it. And Fennekin was able to get out there as well…_ There was something to the Riolu that he himself didn't even know about. If he was able to find the Lake of the Moone, then there must be something, or someone, that made him able to find this place. Whether or not that it was something deity-like he didn't know. He realized that he has a much more important role to play now.

 _Then there's Fennekin,_ Shadow thought. The fox pokemon that he met yesterday seemed to have troubled him even more and more. Her actions today proved that. _She seemed happy, and yet sad at the same time. She wanted to get away from her parents, and at the same time, wanted to be with them. Then Fennekin was upset at that request board today, and how she couldn't help Electrike._

If she actually had been on that island, then how did the fox pokemon get there? Shadow began to ponder this. There was no way that she could have swam out there, seeing from his previous knowledge that she seemed to be what Tyrantrum had explained to him as being, a fire type, and also the fact that Shadow is a fighting type. He had to thank the village elder for that one. The Riolu was learning more and more each day. But, he had this strange feeling about Fennekin.

 _She's hiding something, that's for sure. Maybe one day I'll figure out what that is. But, I have to figure out myself first,_ he thought. The Riolu sighed, and turned his head up to the stars. The sky was clear, as no clouds were seen at all. The moon shined brightly, as his fur began to glow in the moon's light. He stared up at it with intense ruby eyes.

 _If there is some god-like being here in this world, then I'm asking you to help me, please…_

Shadow turned away from the lake and ran to the village. He was gone from sight. A soft breeze came from his wake. Nothing made a sound in the night, same for the breeze the Riolu's running made and the trees swaying from said breeze.

Unbeknownst to him, a large bat-like pokemon was watching him. If he stayed any sooner, he might've noticed, but fortunately for Lunala, he didn't. She sighed. _I didn't expect him to look like that,_ she thought. _He certainly has changed in 50 years._ Lunala began to chuckle.

 _Though, someone will be happy to see him…_

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Hi guys! First of all, I want to apologize for the delay. School has recently started and I've been pummeled with workload after workload. I would've done some work in study but we haven't gotten our computers yet so that's a thing. Also I had to transition from old computer to new computer so there's that. Hopefully I'll get my computer from school soon so I can do some stuff in study.**

 **To be honest, I had a hard time with this one. Not much actiony stuff happens, though there is a lot of dialogue. I gave Shadow a journal so hopefully some plot stuff will move by a bit faster. And the time frame for that matter. This chapter is more of a, introduce the characters and useless dialogue chapter, but mostly every story has one so I had to do something.**

 **Yes, the infamous coffee bean scene from the Sonic Twitter Takeover makes it in XD I wanted to add this in for a while, and considering pokebeans exist in the Gen 7 games, I thought it would be good to add them in. Speaking of events, you may have noticed the reference to the timeline of SMD. Yeah so this ties in hundreds of years later. There is a reason for this. I really wanted to make it so that hardly anyone remembers the SMD storyline so it doesn't make it look like, "Oh! He's from a different world! Someone must've sent him here and the world's gonna end again, oh yay!" XD I just don't want to be too predictable you know?**

 **I introduced some more characters in this chapter, primarily the parents of the children. Also added in descriptions of the Eeveelution siblings (oh that took a while) For one thing, the mothers are the same species of pokemon like their children, which is how it works in the main games. Another thing is that I made Zoroark the father of Fennekin. Now, I know people are gonna call me out and be like, "Well, Shadow being a Zorua would've way better than a Riolu! So why didn't you do that? Or why didn't you make him litten? Or something else that fits him?" A. They're not on the quiz, B. I have plans.**

 **One thing I want to mention is the development between Shadow and Monferno. Yeah yeah, I know, it may sound like a generic bully situation, but it's going to develop over time. And I hate to say it, but I kinda want to, oh would you say, "torture" memory-less Shadow. This story is meant to change him. Not just physically, but emotionally too. Kill me all you want, but there is a reason for this.**

 **Random Stuff: The Litleonid Meteor Shower is an event in ORAS that is based off of the Leonid Meteor Shower that occurs in November, hence the time change in the seasons. In one of the more recent episodes of the Pokemon Sun and Moon anime (not that much of a fan but whatever) it is found that Rayquaza eats Minior (disturbing, not to mention they leave a Minior and Rayquaza flies over next shot hrrmmmm) Also, from what I've seen on the Sonic Wiki, it is unknown if Shadow is left handed or ambidextrous, because of his different poses in various games and game mechanics. Last thing is the scene with Shadow "skating" through the hall. In the Sonic X anime, there was one shot where Shadow was actually running. Though, they probably did this so that they could make him look Sonic-like as possible (even though they are different)**

 **Lastly, tell me what you guys think! Was it good? Bad? I love reviews! They keep me going and let me know that people enjoy my story. Also I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, and not two months later lol**

 **Someone happy to see Shadow? It's not Arceus. Lunala saying Shadow has changed in 50 years? Oooooo**

 **Until next time, See Ya Universe!**

 **-Palkia**


	9. Ch8 Light By the Lake

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! Palkia returns with Chapter 8! Yee! See, I told you I would be back soon. And it's not two months either! Anyway, before we get onto the story…**

 **Infinite's Ruby: If you like Pokemon Moon references, well let's just say the other Gen 7 legend(s) is gonna be here soon. I won't spoil… I always look forward for your reviews. Thanks for sticking to this story even though it was dead for two months lol**

 **Fire4heaven: I won't really be making any new pokemon in this. I've just never had an idea for creating a new pokemon in the first place. But thanks for the review dude!**

 **Anyway, so the first part of this chapter will be Shadow writing in his journal. Some time has past, give or take about two days, and it's pretty much lunchtime when he's doing this. So let's go!**

 **Also I do not own Pokemon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog**

 **Chapter 8**

 **Light By The Lake**

 _Journal Entry #1: September 28_

 _My name is Shadow. I fell from the sky. I'm a shiny, golden-furred Riolu. And well… that's pretty much it. I don't know anything about myself other than that._

 _It's been 3 days since I fell from the sky, (well, not counting the day I fell anyway) and I've been getting used to life here in the Pokemon World. Life is very unique in the Emerald Village. Even though I feel like I'm a stranger to them, all of the treat me like family. Well, except for Monferno and occasionally Electrike, but I'll talk about that later._

 _Ever since I came to this world, everything has been going by in a blur. But I still remember and try to write down what has happened whenever I have the time to do so. Tyrantrum, the elder of the Emerald Village, gave me this so that I may write down my experiences, to remember them to say the least, and, hopefully, be able to recover what is lost to me, my memories._

 _When I arrived here, I found myself in a different state than I thought I was originally. I was turned into a pokemon, a Riolu more specifically, with bright golden fur that would actually glow sometimes. I had no idea who I was, and I still don't know anything about my previous life on another world. Perhaps falling from the sky took away my memory. I hope that, someday, my memory will return to me and I'll be able to go home and find out who I really am._

 _Now, I lay here in the shade of a tree, gazing at the Lake of the Moone, writing in this journal. I find the lake the most calming place here in this world. Every time I come here, I feel as if something resonates with my very being. It's almost a familiar, comforting feeling I get whenever I come here. Perhaps there is more to this lake than it seems._

 _I wish I could get my memory back. It seems that every time I do something good, a feeling of deja vu comes to me. The event of, "I usually do the opposite," or "I've been in this scenario before," always seems to come back to me. Is it bad that I'm trying to be a good pokemon? The other day, I stood up for Tyrantrum and told him that even if the world was against him, I would be by his side. I felt that someone had said that to me before. But when? And where?_

 _I hate this, I really do. Is it bad that I feel this way? Not knowing who you are feels like you are the loneliest thing in the world. I just want to know who I am and where I came from. Is there anyone who knows who I am? Do I have family? Friends? I wonder if they miss me. They probably don't know where I am. If I knew who they really are, I would probably miss them too. I feel like I want to cry now, but I'll never reveal my true feelings to anyone._

 _Perhaps it was a good thing Tyrantrum gave me this. It's a way I can express my hidden thoughts. In a way, the journal makes me feel better about myself. Though, I can't help but think that there is more of a purpose to me than I originally thought. Maybe, I came here for a reason. However, I do wish to return home someday._

 _Does it sound like I'm complaining? I know I shouldn't be. I'm very thankful for what the pokemon of the Emerald Village have done for me. They've been teaching about this world, and of course, everyday life in the village. About all of their traditions and festivals, etc. I must say, they have a very unique and interesting way of life here. Not interesting in meaning that it's strange, I mean interesting as in it hooks me onto wanting to learn more about the village and the pokemon there._

 _Tyrantrum has been teaching about the art of pokemon battles, what moves a pokemon should use against another, typings, abilities, and so forth. So apparently the species of Riolu is a fighting type. I've always felt like I had a thing for battle, so maybe that's why I am a Riolu in the first place. Also, from what Tyrantrum told me, I'm a shiny pokemon, which means that I have different-colored fur than a normal Riolu._

 _Maybe that's why so many pokemon have been giving me questioning looks lately. I always thought it was because I was new to the village. But it's probably because of my name and how my fur is golden. Oh well. Perhaps my fur was the same color combination as Fennekin's father, Zoroark, who has black and red fur. I got a strange feeling that the specific color combination was on my fur at one point._

 _Anyway, Tyrantrum has taught me how to use specific moves. I have since forgotten how to use the move Vacuum Wave, and in its place I learned a new move, Force Palm. Apparently, the other moves I know, which are called Bone Rush and Aura Sphere, are moves that a normal Riolu cannot learn. Tyrantrum does not know my fourth move. Heck, neither do I, because I don't know how to activate it. Another thing he told me is that my ability is Prankster, which for some reason gives priority to status moves, like Agility, a move that increases my speed, which I might want to learn if I ever find out my fourth move. Then again, I am fast enough already._

 _Besides battling, I've actually taken up drawing. I didn't think I was that into art until I saw some of Leafeon's drawings. Now, she's been teaching me many different things. I hope to one day draw the Lake of the Moone, so that way I may always treasure it. My skills are slightly improving as the days go on._

 _Other than drawing, there really isn't anything I feel interested in, besides battling of course. Though, a lot of times, I sneak out and come to the Lake of the Moone at night. The moon itself has reflected beautifully on its surface, and with that, the odd feeling of comfort keeps increasing. Fortunately, the next full moon is in three days, at least that's what Umbreon told me. The next one after that should be on the 31st of October, 33 days from now, and the one after that occurs on the 30th of November._

 _According to Tyrantrum, the Litleonid Festival occurs on November 17th. Not to mention that there will be a new moon on that day, so there will be an incredible view. Talk about convenient. I wish to come back here during the October full moon, to see how strong the feeling becomes. Maybe something special will happen. Perhaps I could draw the full moon on the lake. Even better, the meteor shower on the lake! There is just so many mysteries about this place._

 _Though, something still confuses me. Fennekin. How does she have history with this place? She is just full of mysteries. Is it bad that I wish to know why Fennekin is like this? For some reason, I get a different feeling from her than I do with the other pokemon. I haven't been here long, and yet… there's a strange offness to her. It's almost as if she is hiding a ton of secrets. Though, she probably won't tell me anything. But, then again, she told me of her experience and yet not even Tyrantrum knew. Perhaps Fennekin trusts me a bit more? Why would she trust me? I just showed up out of nowhere from the sky and yet she is trusting a memoryless Riolu?_

 _I wish I knew what to do. Someday, I'll find out who I really am. And when I do, I want to return home and let whoever knows me that I'm alright. Though, this world seems alright with me. If I can never return home, then I wouldn't pick a better world to be stuck in than this one…_

With that, he finished writing his entry and looked out onto the Lake of the Moone. Shadow sighed. _For as long as I can remember, I don't think I've ever felt this relaxed,_ he thought.

The golden Riolu was sitting in a tree right next to the lake. It wasn't the biggest tree, but it could certainly serve the Riolu one of the best views of the entire lake. He was lying there on a branch, writing in his journal that the village elder gave him just a few days ago.

Overall, Shadow was taking his experience rather well. The new lifestyle took a bit of getting used to, but he had adjusted very quickly. Well, then again, he couldn't remember his old lifestyle anyway, so that didn't really help either. His schedule would go like this: wake up, say hello to Tyrantrum, eat breakfast, say hello to those who were awake in the village, and then go off for a run. Though, he promised the village elder that he wouldn't go too far, and that he would be back by dinner.

Shadow wasn't the type of pokemon sit around and do nothing. He wanted to explore. Tyrantrum gave him the ability to go out. Just as long as the Riolu would stay out of trouble. Though, if there was trouble, Shadow was sure that he'd be able to handle it.

Every time he explored an area, he would find a new one. _This world never ceases to surprise me…_ he thought. The golden Riolu found himself going through tons of forests. Later on in the day, he decided to come to the Lake of the Moone.

Shadow opened up his journal and began to write in it. _This world never ceases to amaze me. There is so much here. Every time I find something, another thing comes up. There are so many places here to explore. But, I can't go that far yet. Tyrantrum won't let me._

 _Someday, I hope to go to Ruby Mountain and the Sapphire Sea. Probably more so the sea because it can give me access to other continents. Though, how do I get off this one? None of the pokemon in the village can fly. Well, there's Altaria, but I don't think she would want to leave, let alone be able to carry me. Besides, I don't think she would want a kid visiting the continents yet…_

Shadow felt a bit of sadness overcome him. This thought always came back to the Riolu for some odd reason. He didn't know why, but the thought of what he is now made him upset. Then he continued to write.

 _Am I really just a kid? I feel like for some reason that I was different in my past life. I don't know how I was different, but it's definitely not the same feeling as now. How old am I anyway? Was I older in my own world? I don't know. One day I'll be my actual self. I know it…_

He closed his journal once again. The Riolu breathed in the fresh air coming off the lake and sighed. Then he stood up and jumped down from the tree he was laying in. _I might as well go back to the village,_ he thought. With that, he raced towards home.

* * *

There was a knock at the door of the large house. Umbreon noticed this and went towards it. "I got it!" he yelled. The eeveelution sibling found his way to the door. Then, he opened it.

In front of him was the golden Riolu himself. At first Umbreon was a bit surprised to see Shadow at the door, considering he was with Leafeon a few hours ago. Then again, he might be here because he forgot something.

"Hey Umbreon," he said. "Hello Shadow," Umbreon answered back. "Is Eevee here?" he asked. Umbreon seemed surprised by this. Why would Shadow ask for Eevee?

"Yeah, she's here," Umbreon said. "Is there something wrong or…?" "Oh! No, there's nothing wrong," Shadow answered quickly. "I just wanted to talk to her about something.

In truth, it was more than just talking about something. Shadow wanted some answers. In all honesty, something had been bugging him. And that was Fennekin. For some odd reason, he could always feel a suspicious aura from her, as if she is hiding a secret. Unfortunately though, he couldn't read minds, so there was no way of getting information about her, other than her friends.

Umbreon nodded to him. He turned his head inside. "Eevee!" he called into the house. "Shadow's here to speak with you!" "I'll be there in a second!" a voice called back. Umbreon then turned to Shadow again. "Why don't you come in?" he said to him. "It's getting kinda chilly. October's almost here, and the season and temperature is changing quick." The Riolu nodded, and he was taken inside with Umbreon.

"Umbreon," Shadow said. "You mind if I ask you something?" He turned his head to the Riolu. "Sure go ahead," he answered. "Have you ever heard of the Lake of the Moone?"

The eeveelution sibling was taken aback by this. Why would Shadow, out of all pokemon, ask this question. Yes, he knew about the Lake of the Moone, as well as some of the mysteries that surround it, but it still surprised him that someone like Shadow would ask him this. Could he actually have been able to see it? Perhaps, but why?

As far as he knew, nobody in the village has seen the lake. Not even Tyrantrum. Then how did Shadow find out about it? Even if he saw the lake, the Riolu wouldn't know the name. Someone must've told him. He would have to find out how Shadow found out later.

"Yes, I do," he answered. The Riolu looked interested. "Unfortunately, I don't know much. A lot of pokemon don't. It's mostly because that no one in the village has seen it. Or, at least that's what I was told. I wonder is someone has been there, Shadow."

Umbreon gave Shadow a look. The Riolu knew that Umbreon wanted information, and so he sighed. "You've been there, haven't you?" Umbreon asked. Shadow nodded. "How did you find that place?"

"I didn't exactly find it," Shadow answered. "I was looking for Fennekin because I wanted to say thank you for saving me from Tyrantrum. So I searched for her and I found her by the lake. She told me what it was, and well, I've been going back there a lot. Every time I go there at night, I always get this strange feeling. It's like it's comforting me for some odd reason. I wish I knew why. Though, I thought it has something to do with the moon, considering it's in the name, so I thought I would ask you if you knew anything about it."

"I don't know much," Umbreon admitted. "But I do know this. Some strange astronomical event happens at the lake. No one knows really what it is, well really it's because no one has actually been there. Though, I'm surprised that Fennekin found it, and yet she hasn't told anyone about it. I hope someday I'll be able to see and and study the events that happen there."

Coming up from behind Umbreon was his sister Eevee. She looked happy as usual. "Hello Umbreon, hello Shadow," she said to them in greeting. "You wanted to speak to me about something?" At first when she found out the golden Riolu wanted to speak with her, Eevee was a bit surprised and a bit interesting. Well, mainly the two questions that ran through her mind were, _How come he wants to speak with me,_ and _Why specifically me?_ But she knew she could trust Shadow. After all, the Riolu had helped the village a lot in the past few days.

"Yeah actually," Shadow answered. "Umbreon, uh do you mind if we…?" he trailed off. It's not that he didn't want Umbreon around. He just felt that Eevee would give out more information. Not to mention if her brother found out, he might investigate into more of this. Shadow liked Umbreon as a pokemon, he just wanted this to be secret.

"I don't mind," Umbreon said. "I have stuff to take care of anyway. Hope you get what you're looking for Shadow." He left the room. Now, Shadow and Eevee were alone. He sighed and began to speak.

"I came here to ask about something," Shadow began. "Or rather, someone. It's, well, about Fennekin." Eevee wasn't really surprised, but at the same time, she was. She had noticed her friend had been seeing Shadow a lot lately. And no, it wasn't in the love way. Eevee had seen that Fennekin was acting, oh how to put it, a bit strange, around Shadow. It's like she knows something about him that he doesn't know. I mean, to be fair, he did have amnesia, but how would she know something if Fennekin never met him?

"I don't know what it is, but, I feel like she's hiding something," he answered honestly. "I can feel it in her aura. I wanted to ask you this. How does she usually act?" Shadow didn't know how Fennekin usually acted because, well, he didn't really know her that well. But he could sense that something was off about her. Then, he heard Eevee sigh.

"Well," she answered. "She's usually very shy. I want to say Fennekin's not the type of pokemon to be around others." _That's somewhat on the lines of what Tyrantrum said,_ he thought. "I guess Fennekin's been that way for her entire life. Though, Monferno and Electrike didn't exactly help a lot."

"Those two bully a lot of the children in the village. Especially Fennekin. She was so shy that they took advantage of that. They would push us around, steal stuff, and sometimes they would even hurt us." Shadow felt a bit of anger rise in his aura. A growl almost escaped his throat. How could someone be so cruel to the pokemon of this village? He still didn't understand why. _I guess even a place like this has its faults,_ he thought.

"One day, we just couldn't take it anymore," Eevee admitted. "So we vowed one day to leave the village. At that time, the only ones who cared about the children in the village were my siblings. Everyone else… well, you saw how hard Tyrantrum was on everyone."

Shadow shuddered a little. The memory of the village elder becoming cloaked in such a dark aura frightened him. To think that someone like Tyrantrum could become corrupted with… _Darkness,_ Shadow thought. It was really the only thing he could come up with. Darkness had taken over Tyrantrum. The situation was so hard to imagine. And the village elder came so close to almost severely injuring Shadow.

"I'm… so sorry," The words almost stung in his mouth. He didn't know why, but it felt like he would never say this. But the Riolu knew that it was the right thing to do. Unfortunately for him, there was nothing he could do about the events that happened in the past.

"It's alright," Eevee answered. "We've pretty much gotten used to it as this point. But, to be honest with you, I haven't seen Tyrantrum act so nice in such a long time. And I seem to get that feeling from everyone else in the village. Except for, well you know. Maybe there's something special about you…"

 _Special, about me?_ He thought. _Maybe there is something like that. I am beginning to wonder. Why did I come here? Do I have a purpose? Everyone has something to fulfil right? If that's true, then what is my purpose?_

"Anyway, all of us really wanted to leave," Eevee started. "Especially Fennekin. Her parents are really hard on her, as well as the rest of the village. She, oh how do I put this? She kinda has a bad history in the village." "Bad history?" Shadow asked. Eevee nodded.

"She always used to be so adventurous," she said. "Fennekin loved to explore around the village. Though, unfortunately, some of her adventures caused trouble in the village. So she was constantly getting in trouble. Some of us liked to go exploring with her. Heck, she even vowed to leave the village one day and wanted to explore the world in a exploration team."

"Exploration team?" Shadow said. "They're teams of pokemon who explore mystery dungeons," Eevee said. "Sometimes they rescue pokemon, hunt for treasure, even stop bad pokemon. There's a request board on the edge of the village. That's where pokemon would send in requests for rescue teams. They would ask to rescue pokemon, find some treasure, and other things. The exploration teams would even get rewarded for what they did. However, they usually did it because they felt it was right. Because they felt they were doing good."

 _Doing good…_ Shadow thought. Now everything began to make sense. Fennekin's interactions, her emotions, everything. She wanted to leave the village and become part of an exploration team because of her treatment in the village. That's why ask was so happy to get a request from Manectric and Luxray. Because what seemed like a chore was a request for doing something that was right.

"So exploration teams helped pokemon?" he said. Eevee nodded. "A lot of the children in the village wanted to form an exploration team. It's probably because we used to have a team in the village." "The village had its own?" Shadow asked. He was becoming more interested in this more and more.

"They were called Team Emerald, named in honor of the Emerald Village," Eevee said. "They traveled around the entire world. Because of the name they had, pokemon remembered our village. Their team consisted of Lycanroc, Kommo-o, and their leader, Incineroar. They were the best team of all time. Even better than Team ACT. The team had a diamond rank, the second highest rank next to the Lucario Rank."

 _Lucario Rank?_ He wondered. _Why would they have a Lucario Rank? Shouldn't Diamond Rank be the highest? But it's not. So then why would Lucario Rank be the highest?_ Then, something else came into his head. _Wait a minute. She said they "used" to have a exploration team. So what happened to them?_

"Hold on, what happened to them?" he asked. "Well, they were on the verge of getting Lucario Rank, until they got a request to investigate some suspicious activity at Ruby Mountain. The village elder at the time warned them not to go there, saying that the mountain is sacred and shouldn't be disturbed. Though, they went anyway, making a claim that if the disturbance isn't stopped, then it might come to the village. The village elder let them go, despite his better judgement. That was the last time the village ever saw them."

"No one knows what happened to them, to be honest with you. They just left for the expedition and never came back. Eventually, requests stopped coming to the village. Since Team Emerald was gone, there were no more exploration teams, which meant no one was here to take requests. The board is still up there, but there is nothing on it. After that event, things have been quiet in the village for a long time, and we really became secluded. The Lapras Liner stopped coming. No one came to the continent. It was a time of silence."

"Fennekin was really inspired by them. She always wanted to help pokemon. We all wanted to make an exploration team. However, the adults would never let us. Fennekin still remained hopeful. But… that all changed one day." He could feel a change in her aura. It went from a somewhat happy one to one filled with sadness.

Shadow didn't know why he was able to feel aura like it was nothing. It was so natural to him. Like he's done it before. Perhaps it was because he was already getting used to his new form. But, then again, how would he know what to do? That he still question. But, this came with some positives. He was able to sense the emotions of pokemon, hence why he could feel the certain offness of Fennekin.

"She ran away one day, I'll never forget that," she said. Shadow's eyes widened. _Fennekin… ran away?_ He thought. "Her father was being harsh on her one day, because she climbed the roof of their house. Fennekin made an excuse by saying she was on an adventure. Though, her father wouldn't accept it. Oh was he mad. So, she ran away."

"I was very young when that happened, so I wasn't allowed to go out and search. But all the adults did. It took almost an entire day to find her. Then, her father came back with her in his arms. She was shivering and wet. Zoroark didn't know why she was wet. All he knew was that he found her running towards him. And she was terrified. After that, she became so scared of everything. She was no longer the Fennekin I knew."

Now everything made sense. Shadow understood why Fennekin looked at the request board as she did. He knew now why she was so timid around her parents. And finally, he understood a little bit more about what happened to her at the lake. She _swam_ across it.

 _That's how she got across it,_ he thought, putting the puzzle pieces together. _She ran away from her parents and the village because of her bad experiences. So she swam across the lake to the island to hide and get away, only for her to find something horrifying on the island, then she swam back across in terror just to find her father, the one who basically caused this entire mess to happen. Wow, she must have a lot of stamina._

"That is, until you came…"

Shadow was taken out of his thoughts and looked at Eevee with wide, shocked, ruby eyes. "Me?" he said. "Yes," Eevee answered. "Ever since you saved her from Monferno, she seems to start becoming her old self again. The fight that happened with Tyrantrum? She would've never gotten involved. Heck, Fennekin probably would've ran away, but she didn't. If she is becoming like her old self, I just hope she doesn't do anything reckless. Fennekin used to do that."

"Well, thanks for the information Eevee," he said. He began to walk towards the door. "No problem," she answered. "If you need anything, just let me know!" With that, he opened the door, exited the house, and closed the door behind him.

Shadow sighed. _Well, that solved something. But…_ He looked towards the slightly orange sky. _There's still something that I wonder about. What was on that island? And didn't Tyrantrum say that she had some sort of necklace? Then how did she get necklace?_

He shook his head and headed for Tyrantrum's home. He began to think about what Eevee said about him. _I guess I really did change the lives of some of the pokemon. Maybe… I do have a purpose…_ Shadow entered Tyrantrum's home and closed the door.

* * *

" _No, no! Please! Leave me alone!"_

 _She ran through the island with fear in her eyes. The pokemon wanted to get away. It was incredibly dangerous. She knew this. So she did the only thing she could. Run._

 _A battle was occurring in the distance. Explosions could be heard. Lights flashed, lighting up the dark sky. The stars could not even been seen. The moon was not showing the beautiful white light._

 _One minute she was wandering around, the next minute a mysterious pokemon attacked. She didn't know what to do, so she ran. Trees flew past her. She ran for her life. At first she thought she got away. By then she realized it was chasing her._

 _Then, she saw blue in her vision. The water. "Yes!" She exclaimed. The pokemon didn't care if she was found by her father. She didn't care if the village would greatly punish her when she got home. She didn't care what her mother would think of her. All she wanted to do was run._

 _The trees began to diminish. A clearing came into view. The beach and the water was calm at this time at night. Unfortunately, the peace was about to be disrupted._

 _Suddenly, an explosion was heard behind her. The wake of the blast knocked her off her paws and she was thrown into the air. She screamed in fright. Then, she landed on the sand of the beach with a loud THUD!_

 _Everything hurt. It really did. She felt like she didn't want to get up. "Ugh," She squinted her eyes in pain. Loud rustling was heard in the trees. Her heard shot up, as she looked into the trees. She gasped in fear._

 _Coming at her was a black shadow of a pokemon. It was so terrifying that she couldn't describe it. Her body quivered in fear. Her eyes widened. She was gonna die. "Please! I'm begging you!" She cried out in vain. "Please!"" The pokemon came up and attacked her, sending her into a spirling world of darkness…_

"No!" she screamed. Her head shot up from the bed. Fennekin was sweating and panting. She has been having this nightmare for a few days now. Well, it was more than just a nightmare. It was a _memory._

Fennekin wanted to forget her experience. In fact, she had ignored it for a while. But for some reason, the nightmares have been coming back for the past few days. She didn't exactly remember what had happened that night. Heck, Fennekin was so young at the time that there must've been no way she could've in the first place. And yet, she did.

 _I need to clear my head,_ she thought. Fennekin quietly opened the door to her room, and then closed it. _They'll hear me open the door._ Instead, she looked out the window. Night had already fallen. It was clear out. The stars shone brightly, and the moon casted its light across the village. It would be full in a few days.

Fennekin had decided. She carefully opened the window, being mindful that it didn't make a lot of noise. She hoped that it wouldn't wake up her parents. Once it was open, she looked back at her door. _I'll be back in a bit,_ she thought. Fennekin climbed out the window and closed it gently.

* * *

The Lake of the Moone was calm that night. There was no wind and no clouds. Not a sound was heard. No movement was seen. Except for the padding of a young Riolu's feet. He wasn't running around the lake for no reason, oh no. He was looking for a place to sleep.

Shadow had decided to sleep outside for the night. Not that he hated Tyrantrum's home. He just felt that he needed a change of, hmm, scenery. Then there was the fact that he wanted some answers. Like, for example, what happens here? Umbreon had said that some sort astronomical event happens at the lake. But when though? And how?

The next full moon would be in a few days, and Shadow was going to make sure that he didn't miss it. He then began to drift into his thoughts. _Maybe I could bring Umbreon here. He might be able to tell me something about…_

"Arrgghh!" Something, or rather someone, drove him away from his thoughts. The Riolu got up from where he was sitting and looked around. He recognized the voice, but he preferred to stick out of this for a bit. But, then again, why would she be here?

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" The yelling continued throughout the forest. _I've never seen her this upset before,_ he thought. _I wonder what happened. Did something happen in her family? And why would she be out late at night like this?_

"Stupid nightmare, stupid memories, stupid… ARRRGGHHH!" Fennekin cried out. From Shadow's point of view, he saw a column of fire rise into the night. _She used Flamethrower,_ he thought. _Fennekin must really be angry._ Tyrantrum had been teaching him about the different types of moves other pokemon could use. A fire type move like Flamethrower is a very common move to use by fire type pokemon like Fennekin.

He could feel the anger in her aura, despite him being slightly far away. And, was that a hint of sadness and fear? It was mostly confusion that he felt. Why was she this way? What was Fennekin so angry about? He jumped down from the tree he was sitting in and ran off to find her. A minute later, he found her. Though, she was in a state that he never seen her before in. Fennekin was _crying._ His eyes widened at this.

"Are you alright?" he asked, revealing his presence to her. She turned her head to him. "Sh..Shadow?" she whispered. "What are you doing here?" "I decided to sleep out tonight," he answered. "It's not that I don't like sleeping in Tyrantrum's home, I just like sleeping under the stars. It feels more natural. But my question is, why are you out here?"

"It's… nothing important," she sniffled. "I just needed some fresh air, that's all." Shadow knew she was wrong. He shook his head. "No, it is important," he said. "I can feel it in your aura. You're upset about something. You came here for a reason. What is that reason?"

Fennekin hesitates for a bit. _Should I tell him?_ She wondered. The fox pokemon inwardly shook her head. _No, he wouldn't understand. No one in the village would understand. What I did was a mistake. And I don't feel like bringing it up._

"It's just… I've been having these nightmares, that's all. I came out here to clear my head." She answered. Shadow wasn't convinced. For her aura, he knew that Fennekin was lying. Course in her mind, it was a half-lie. Yes, she came out here to clear her head, the the reason for said journey was a lie. He wanted to know why she was suffering this way. And he would do anything to get it.

"You're lying," he said to her. "You know that it's a lie. I can tell." She didn't respond to him. All Fennekin did was tremble. Shadow wasn't exactly prepared for a situation like this. After all, he doesn't remember being in a situation like this. What he did know is that in order to get answers, one must talk it out. So, that's what he decided to do.

"Do you want to talk about it or…?" The words felt very foreign as they exited his mouth. _I don't do this,_ he thought. _Why am I trying to help?_ Unfortunately for Shadow, his words were cut off by a shout.

"No!" she shouted. Though, surprisingly, the Riolu didn't flinch from the shout directed at him. Fennekin stood up in front of him. "I don't want to talk about it!" she yelled at him. Tears began to form in her eyes. Her body shook. "You shouldn't know anything!" The water from her eyes began to trail down her face. Her breath hitched with sobs.

"But Fennekin, I…" he started. "You wouldn't understand!" she shouted. Shadow felt a hint of anger rise in his throat. He let out a small growl of frustration. "I would understand if you just tell me what's upsetting you!" In his mind, he knew he was right. The Riolu would be able to understand, if only she told him what was wrong.

"How would you understand if you don't remember anything!"

The Riolu's eyes widened. He flinched at the statement. His breath hitched in his throat. This hit him hard. Shadow felt as though he was stuck in place. It was bad enough that Monferno got on the edge of mentioning it, but this...this was a whole different level. For some reason, the way she said it, and the fact that she said it felt as though he had been smacked by a tree. His head hung down in defeat.

 _I know what it's like,_ he wanted to say. _I've had fragments of things in my mind,_ he needed to say. _I know what it's like to feel as if you're alone. I know what it's like to lose everything… because I have._

In his circumstance, it was true. All of his memories were gone. Barely, if at all nothing, was left behind, like a slate that was wiped clean. He had nothing. Everything was gone. Except for his name. He knew what it was like to try to grasp something, but in the end, it never came. If anything, Shadow understood Fennekin's situation perfectly.

However, because of that statement, he was met at a standstill. He didn't have the courage to move or talk at that moment. Shadow wanted to say it, he needed to say it. But is seemed like his voice was taken away from him in one second.

Then, he was taken out of his spell by the wind rustling from the trees. This wind came from the north, to his surprise. The Riolu tested his legs to see if they worked properly. And indeed they did. He did this with his arms as well. Then, Shadow turned his head to make sure his tail could move as well. Though, when he turned his head back, he realized something…

...Fennekin was gone…

 _No, no, no!_ He screamed mentally. _What have I done?! This can't be happening!_ His body turned frantically in every direction, trying to find her. But, she wasn't there. She was long gone. _How long was I standing there?_ He thought. _Too long,_ Shadow realized. _Fennekin must've ran off while I was standing here. I have to go after her. Who knows what could happen to her._ He was about to run after Fennekin when suddenly, he stopped to think for a moment. Was this the best thing to do?

"Don't go after her," a voice echoed through the forest. More wind blew in from the north. Shadow turned to the direction of the wind. He gasped. There, standing on a huge rock, with the moon shining on it, was a pokemon. It stood on four legs, with two ribbon-like tails. The color of its fur was a crystal blue with white spots. From its head a a big, crystal-like formation. A deep purple mane flowed out from its head. A pair of red eyes stared at the Riolu.

"She needs space," he said. The pokemon leaped down from the rock in a beautiful and elegant manner. Shadow was stunned. He stood there in awe as the pokemon approached him. The Riolu looked up to him, ad the pokemon sat down in front of him.

"Who are..?" Shadow tried to say, but he was answered by the mysterious pokemon. "That is not important," he said. "You are Shadow, are you not?" The Riolu's eyes widened. _How does he know?_ He thought. _I've never met him before, or at least as far as I can remember. Where did he come from?_

"How do you know my name?" he asked. "I overheard your conversation," he answered simply. Shadow looked down with sadness. This was his fault. He shouldn't have pushed her so far. The Riolu only wanted to get what he wanted, not what Fennekin wanted. He should've thought about her first.

"It's my fault," Shadow admitted. His body began to shake. Tears slowly began to form in his eyes. "I shouldn't have tried to push her. I should've thought about her first. I needed to say to her that I understood!" He got got on his knees and began to cry. "I do understand!" he sobbed. He hoped that she would hear him.

The pokemon in front of him sighed. He reached his head down towards Shadow. "Do not think it was your fault," he said to him. The Riolu looked up and sniffled. He felt as if he never cried in his life. Though, for Shadow, it felt as if an eternity of emotions was coming out of his body.

"But it is!" he cried out. "It is my fault! I should've said something! Not just stand there and do nothing!" The pokemon shook his head. "Come now," he said to him. "Do not think that. You're just now experiencing the situation aren't you?"

The pokemon began to walk on towards the shore. Shadow, wiping some of the tears from his eyes, followed him. His thoughts began to jumble in his head as he walked on. _Just now experiencing the situation?_ He thought. _What does he mean by that? And who is he?_

The mysterious pokemon had his paws at the edge of the water. He began to speak. "This is really not your fault," he spoke. "Fennekin has been through a lot. Sometimes, pokemon do not wish to speak about things. That is just the way things are. You have been through many hard times, haven't you?"

The Riolu nodded. "I see," he said. "And you don't want to reveal some information too yes?" Shadow nodded again. "That is how Fennekin feels. Just give her some time, and she will tell you. For now, leave her alone, and worry about yourself. You cannot carry the entire world on your back."

He stood up, gazing out into the lake. "I must go. Do not tell anyone of what transpired here." Just as he was about to leap away, Shadow spoke up. "Wait!" He yelled. The pokemon turned around. "Please tell me your name," Shadow said. "I know you said that it wasn't important for me to know, but for me, I want to know so I can remember you." The pokemon sighed.

"I am Suicune, embodiment of the north wind, protector of Crystal Clearing, and part of the sacred beast trio of legendary pokemon." Shadow's eyes widened. _He's a… legendary pokemon?_ Suicune's eyes turned cold as he looked at the Riolu. "This is a warning to not only you but to everyone. Danger is coming Shadow. You and all that you know will be consumed in darkness. The darkness is near…"

To Shadow's surprise, Suicune leaped towards the water. He expected him to swim and fall into the water, but the exact opposite happened. Suicune's paws walked on the water. He leaped across the lake with grace and elegance. Each leap causes the water to ripple with just a slight touch. At last, Suicune was gone from sight.

The Riolu was both in awe and frightened at the same time. In awe at the scene he saw. Frightened because of what Suicune told him. _Darkness,_ he thought. _Darkness is coming… what does that mean?_ He looked around the now silent lake. The ripples ripples that Suicune had made disappeared. Nothing was there…

I don't think sleeping out tonight is a great idea after all, he thought. The encounter made feel nervous. More than nervous actually. Terrified is the better definition of what he felt. Though, the feeling of fear felt new to him. He didn't know why, but that is just what he was experiencing at the moment. Deciding not to stick around any longer, fearfully noting that Suicune may come back, the Riolu raced off into the forest, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

However, once he left, at the other side of the lake, a pair of pink, gleaming eyes gazed out in the direction in which the Riolu ran off in. She sighed and shook her head. At the same time, she was pleased, but also, disappointed. The situation that occured was alright, it just wasn't perfect.

"Great job Suicune, you just terrified the heck out of the poor kid," she huffed out in disapproval. "Figures. Out of the three of you, I get stuck with the grumpy one." Said pokemon walked up to her side. Despite the fact that she was disappointed in the fact of his actions, he didn't seem unfazed by her remarks.

"I would've thought that he could have taken more," he admitted. "The information I was told showed him to be a fearless warrior. Not some young, immature kid. I expected more from him. Unless you are telling lies, Lunala."

"You never understood the concept of childhood, now did you?" she inquired. The legendary pokemon of the moon was getting her patience tried. Lunala knew Suicune was a stubborn one. Unfortunately for her, he was the only contact she had throughout the Gem Continent. Besides well… someone else…

"Childhood is one thing. Fearless warrior is another," he complained. "I'm afraid that this is not the one, Lunala. He couldn't even handle the seriousness of the message. Heck, he was crying earlier over an argument with that Fennekin. And by the way, wasn't he supposed to be, oh I don't know, mature by this point?"

"He was," Lunala explained. "But I don't know exactly how he got this way. Or rather, how he got here in the first place. Though, I suppose fate likes to mess with all of us. Fate has already messed with him so much."

"I overheard that Fennekin shouting at him about no memory," Suicune replied. "You don't think that he…?" He didn't want to say the rest. Silence filled the air. Suicune knew that Lunala didn't want to talk about it, but unfortunately, the conversation went off in that direction.

"I think it's true," Lunala answered. "Otherwise he wouldn't have been afraid. Shadow wouldn't have been with her. But, this is probably worse than the memory loss that occurred 50 years ago. I hate to admit it, but it truly is. I'm afraid… that he's forgotten everything, and worse of all, it may never come back."

"I've heard stories of what happened," Suicune spoke. "But I only know a few things. You were there when it happened, yes?" She sighed. Lunala didn't exactly like bringing it up. But, since these circumstances were unique, she would talk about it.

"Yes, I was," Lunala admitted. "None of us like to bring it up. Especially, well, you know who. It wasn't exactly our fault that it occurred. But, I'm afraid now isn't really the time to talk about it. Though, what I can say is to have a little faith in him. He doesn't look like much, but he can pack quite a punch."

Suicune chuckled. Lunala had a questioning look on her face. "What is so funny?" she inquired. He got up and prepared to leave. Suicune smirked at her. His eyes were filled with pride.

"Oh it's nothing," Suicune said. "It's just that kid reminds me of the one Entei met centuries ago." He leaped a distance away from Lunala. "Although, I think I like this one better than the last one. That kid was too silent. This one is expressive."

"Suicune!" She yelled. To this, he let out a laugh. "What?" He inquired. "The one Entei met rarely if ever talked. At least this one shows his feelings. You should've seen him. He just stood there like a statue. I actually felt bad for Mew. That's really saying something."

"Good thing I wasn't around for that," she said. "Being trapped in Ultra Space has its ups and downs. Of course, the reason why I was there to begin with wasn't exactly the most pleasant."

"Although I hate to say it, but isn't this whole memory loss thing actually a good thing?" he said. Lunala said nothing. Suicune sighed. "From what I heard, this kid went through a lot, and used to never show his feelings. And yet, just now, I found him crying of all things! Yes I know that's bad, but it's better than what he used to be! Think of it this way, Lunala. He is beginning to show signs of sadness, curiosity, and do you know what? He's almost beginning to happiness! Something he hasn't experienced fully in 50 years!"

"I suppose, you're right," Lunala admitted. Perhaps Shadow was changing for the better. Not just physically, but mentally as well. In a good way, of course. She noticed a change in his stance, as he was preparing to leap away. However, she had to ask him one thing. "Suicune, if I may ask, where exactly did you get this information?" she inquired. He turned his head to her.

"Solgaleo told me…"

Her eyes went wide. Not with surprise however, but with fury and anger. Suicune felt a chill going up his spine. "I think I should be going," he admitted. And without a further notice, he bounded across the lake with a fast and nervous pace that one would think he could rival Deoxys or Mewtwo in speed. He was already across the lake when…

"SOLGALEOOOOO!" she shout in anger. "I'M GOING TO KILL THAT IDIOTIC SUN CAT WHEN I GET MY FANGS ON HIM! I'll…" Fortunately for Suicune, the screams and yells of Lunala began to quiet down as he move swiftly to the shore. He stopped for a moment and shook his head.

"Some things never change," he admitted. "Angry, furious bat is one of them." Suicune looked in the direction of the village. A smirk grew on his face.

"Black hedgehog turning into a Riolu and losing memory doesn't make the list." He began to run in the direction of his home, the Crystal Clearing. "When the time comes Shadow, you shall be the one to be put to the ultimate test. I will not hold back, and neither will you." He disappeared into the forest.

A few miles away, in a cozy bed in Tyrantrum's home, and already asleep, the Riolu's ear twitched at the sound of his name…

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **And that's the end of Chapter 8! So here's some little information.**

 **As mentioned in the previous chapter, the events of SMD happened centuries ago. This is mostly due to the fact that I don't want pokemon saying, "Oh! He's from another world! Guess that means the world is going to end again!" As SMD so proudly gave us past characters from past games. Also had to come up with an excuse for why Lunala wasn't there so I just picked Ultra Space. Most used plot device in SM and USUM because everything happens there, oh joy.**

 **Suicune and Lunala make an appearance in here. I won't say much about Lunala because I don't want to spoil, but I will tell you about Suicune. There is a reason I picked him. Entei would've been the least likely choice, because of SMD sort of tying into this. That left Raikou and Suicune. As much as I love the adorable thunder kitty, Suicune seemed like the more viable option. He is the most calm out of the three, and seeing from his events in that of Pokémon Crystal and the anime, Suicune is the most likely out of the trio to put faith in humans or other things that are not pokemon. Like Shadow for instance. Also Crystal Clearing is made up, because I wanted to use Crystal Cave, but that exists so yeah.**

 **As we move forward, you might begin to see something different in Shadow. In this chapter, he shows empathy for Fennekin, and heck even begins to cry, like** _ **actually**_ **cry, not that whole SA2 tear thing. This is because of his memory loss. The last time he truly cried was 50 years ago when Maria died. Since then, he had a reason to lock away his emotions. Here, he doesn't, because there is no reason on why to do it. He doesn't remember Maria dying, he doesn't remember anyone from his world, and he doesn't remember any of the times he saves the world. Think of it as a clean slate almost. But, he does get deja vu moments.**

 **A few random stuff. So the whole full moon dates and Litleonid meteor shower should be fairly accurate. The meteor shower actually peaks around the 17th of November. Also, now that I think about it, giving Shadow a journal was something good. I can now basically go into depth with his thoughts.**

 **Lastly, tell me what you guys think! I love reviews! It lets me know that people are still reading my story and enjoying it!**

 **Ooooo second legendary ooooo.**

 **Anyways, until next time, See Ya Universe!**

 **Palkia**


	10. Ch9 An Exploration Team Is Born!

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! Palkia is here with Chapter 9! Yee! But first…**

 **Infinite's Ruby: Aww thanks dude! I gotta add some comical stuff in there, along with some serious stuff. There will be more along the way!**

 **Derpykip: I absolutely love Gen 4, and I really like Weavile. Earlier I had mentioned that I created Mist Forest, and I needed something that would be able to be the boss of the area. Pretty much the forest is your farming area of GTI (Gates to Infinity) Come to find out, after I had written the Weavile boss battle (if you wish to call it that) the info on Bulbapedia mentioned that Weavile makes packs of four or five members of either Sneasel or Weavile, and use teamwork to take down prey. And, both Sneasel and Weavile do live in the forest and communicate with carving patterns on trees! I didn't even research this and I still got it right! XD I'm glad you like the story!**

 **Not gonna say much because I don't want to spoil. So here we go!**

 **Also I do not own Pokémon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog**

 **Chapter 9**

 **An Exploration Team is Born**

A few days had past since the chilling encounter with Suicune. Even though it had gone by, the event still shook Shadow to the bone. Just why did Suicune show up? And why did he tell him this?

" _The Darkness is near…"_ He vaguely remembered Suicune saying. That stood out to him the most. Well, other than the fact that Suicune was indeed a _legendary_ pokemon. Why would a legendary pokemon want to speak with him? And, more specifically, why just him?

After that night, he had gone to Tyrantrum for some answers. Shadow didn't mention Suicune, however. The Riolu was true to keep his promise. After all, this was a legendary pokemon he was keeping the secret for.

Of course, the village elder had asked him why exactly, and he just lied, saying that he was interested in learning more about them. So, to the Riolu's surprise, Tyrantrum opened an old trap door to a hidden basement within the house. In there was a collection of books, some ranging from recent to thousands of years old, along with a couple of cobwebs and dust.

Tyrantrum has picked out a few history books that he thought Shadow could read for now. But what the Riolu noticed is that he saw the village elder hesitate when grabbing one book. It was covered in red leather. However, he decided to not grab it.

"These might help you," he said to Shadow. "The rest in here either do not consist of the topic you're looking for, are unreadable because of time, or in a language that even I cannot understand." In his hands, or rather claws, were three books that he had just recently taken off of the shelves. The books didn't look out of the ordinary. They were covered in brown leather, and well, that was pretty much the only thing he could notice that was different. To his surprise, when Tyrantrum handed him the books, the Riolu didn't seem fazed by the amount of weight he was carrying.

Shadow had thanked Tyrantrum for this. He was hoping the books would help him understand more about Suicune, and also this "darkness" he had mentioned. With that, he went upstairs to his room. He placed the books on his bed, wiping off some of the dust. Then, he opened the first book…

A flash of lightning and a loud rumble of thunder was heard just outside his window. The Riolu jumped at the noise. "Ahh!" he cried in fright. He ended up falling off the bed, with the book falling on his head. And it hurt, a lot. Shadow was spread eagle on the smooth wooden floor with a book half draped over his head.

"Owwww," he moaned. The Riolu opened his ruby eyes, only to see the book obscuring his view. He reached over and grabbed it, taking it off of his head. Pushing himself off of the ground, Shadow stood up and placed the book on the bed with the two other ones. He jumped back onto the bed and looked out the window…

Only to hear the sound of rain.

"Aww no," he said. Tonight was the full moon. And now it was raining outside. "So much for going to the lake today," he stated sadly. He would have to wait a whole month to find out what happens there. The Riolu couldn't do much today, because of the rain, however, he noticed the books that he recently acquired. _I might as well read those,_ he thought. Taking one book in his paw, Shadow opened it up. Come to find out, he couldn't understand a single word.

 _You have gotta be kidding me,_ he thought, trying to keep his anger contained. _It feels like everything is going bad for me today._ The Riolu decided that it would be best to return them to Tyrantrum, and explain that he can't understand the language. And so, he did.

Tyrantrum wasn't surprised. He knew Shadow came from another world, so it wouldn't have been that shocking if he had found out that the Riolu couldn't understand the language. Though, there was one solution to the problem. The village elder offered to translate it for him, but Shadow didn't take the offer. He wanted to work on something else instead.

The Riolu went back to his room with a hint of sadness in the air. A lot of things seemed to be going wrong for him in the past few days. The books, the rain, and even the encounter with Fennekin. He hadn't seen her since that night. The Riolu wondered how she was doing. Though, he had the feeling that she wouldn't want to see him soon. Not after that statement.

" _How would you understand if you don't remember anything!"_ The words rang through his head over and over, like a never ending nightmare. Sometimes, he wished he could go back in time and change what he had said and done. She would probably be mad at him for a while.

Minutes turned into hours as he was in his room all day. Shadow did have stuff to do, like finishing up one of the drawings he was working on with Leafeon. He finished it by the time night fell. Surprisingly, he actually did two that day. The first one was a fall scene with red, orange, and yellow leaves. Shadow had never seen fall foliage that beautiful before. The second one was the rain that went on outside his window all day. He sighed. At least something kept him busy that day. The Riolu was tired. After having dinner with Tyrantrum, Shadow said goodnight and went to bed.

His sleep wasn't that peaceful. It was plagued by dreams. Dreams that he couldn't understand. He opened his eyes and all he could see was darkness. A sea of blackness was all around him. The Riolu struggled, having trouble breathing and moving.

 _What's happening?_ He wondered. _I can't breathe!_ Panic began to sweep over his entire being. Fear crept into his mind. He couldn't move and couldn't breathe. Where was he? The fear and panic overwhelmed him. Shadow was going to die.

 _Please, please!_ He tried to call out. _Help me! Help me! Please!_ He could not speak words. All he could do was call out mental cries of desperation. But it was to no avail. Nobody was going to help him. Not when he was trapped here.

" _We...to do something!"_ A female voice cried out through the darkness. Shadow looked around frantically. Who was this voice? And where did it come from. Was it going to help him? " _He must... not going to make it!"_ She cried out. There were distortions in the female voice's words. But one thing was clear to Shadow. _I am dying…_ he thought.

" _It's no use,"_ a strong male voice said. " _There is... we can do...am not… going to...it to him."_ The Riolu was surprised. Someone wanted him to die? But why? What did he do?

" _But he's dying!"_ She cried out in despair. " _He… taken his first breath … yet!"_ The male voice yelled. " _He's not… one... alive! He was… even born yet!"_ Shadow's eyes widened in shock. _What is this?_ He thought. _Is this a dream? Or is this… a memory?_

The pressure was beginning to strangle him, trying to kill him. He began to mentally cry in pain. _Make it stop! Make it stop!_ He cried in pain. _Please! Help me! I'm begging you!_

" _I can… him!"_ The female voice said. " _He's…! Please! Give… It's the only way... live!"_ A glint of hope filled Shadow's heart. They could possibly hear him! _Please! If you can hear me, then please help me!_

He heard a sigh. " _This is… responsibility… you realize this, yes?"_ The male voice said. " _I don't care!"_ The female voice shouted. " _He has...live! He…can save us!"_

 _Save...us…?_ His thoughts lingered. He was slowly losing his consciousness, or whatever the state he was in now. His began to lower his eyes. _No! I must stay awake! I can't fall asleep! Not now!_

" _Y_ _ **O**_ _u MuS_ _ **t**_ _DIeeE_ _ **E**_ _e…"_ The sound of thousand of voices came flying at him, making him feel disoriented. Shadow's head pounded, forcing him to his knees with his paws clenching his head. Something strangled him, and was forcing him to not breathe. _Please…_ his mental cry was becoming distant and weak. _Save...me…_ He was drifting on the edge of death.

" _Do it!"_ The female voice shouted. " _He's fading!"_ Suddenly, he could feel a great amount of pressure forced into his chest. But, it wasn't killing him. The strangling began to lessen more and more. Then, he couldn't feel any pain. Shadow could breathe again. He gasped for air.

 _What's happening to me?_ He wondered. A bright light began to appear in his chest, illuminating some of the darkness. At first, it was small, then it began to grow and grow, consuming his entire body. He no longer heard the voices. All he could feel was the warm, welcoming embrace the light was giving him.

His eyes shot open. His body shot up out of the bed. Shadow was panting and sweating, the fear and shock could be seen in those widened, ruby eyes. The Riolu looked around frantically, making sure that the entire area was real. He let out a sigh of relief. It was only a dream.

 _Or was it?_ He thought. The chilling realization came back to him. _I almost died…_ Shadow couldn't breathe or move at all during that time. The thousands of voices that came at him, pressuring him to die. But then… there were two voices.

 _Who were they?_ Shadow thought. _I can't remember them. Unfortunately their conversation was cutting in and out. They sound familiar, and yet… they don't._ So many questions ran through his head. Those two were talking during that time. And didn't the male voice mention that he wasn't even alive? _Could that mean that I wasn't even born yet?_ He wondered. _But, that's not possible. How could I not be born if I wasn't born yet?_

He looked outside. The rain still poured down on the window. It was dark out, but the moon didn't show because of the rain. The Riolu could hear the pitter patter of the rain hitting the roof. He grew sad. _It's alright,_ he thought. _I'll just have to wait a month, that's all…_

Shadow readjusted the covers on the bed. He let himself flop back onto the bed, with his head hitting the pillow. Looking up at the ceiling, he found that he couldn't sleep. Shadow sighed. His eyes were filled with sadness. _I want to go home…_

* * *

The morning was calm, though it was rather wet. The night's rainfall left some areas of the village flooded and filled with mud. There was no sign of another storm coming. That was a relief for the Emerald Village, for the most recent one left behind a lot of damage.

Trees were down. Red and orange colored leaves had come off of the trees and were now scattered on the ground. They mixed with the mud, making the ground extra slippery. The broken Emerald Shrine was covered with wet leaves, so many of them that all you could see was a pile of leaves.

The Pokémon of the Emerald Village were tasked of cleaning the leaves away. Even Weavile and his gang came to help. They did not want anyone to get hurt when they walked through the village. The pokemon also had to wash away any mud so that someone doesn't get stuck either. The children were tasked to clear the leaves away from the shrine. Some were fine with it, others, well, not so much.

Shadow helped out of course, despite the fact that he didn't get much sleep that night. To be honest, he wasn't truly asleep for the rest of the night after that experience. Though, he didn't tell anyone about what had happened. The only thing was that his drowsiness was beginning to show to the other pokemon.

Skitty was the first to notice. Being an apprentice to the village healer meant that she was taught how to spot certain signs of sickness. She noticed that his eyes were drooping, he wasn't focused, and he seemed to be dragging himself along. He must've not gotten a lot of sleep last night.

"Hey Shadow," She said. The Riolu turned to her. "Are you alright? You don't look so good." "I'm… not?" He said, then it was proceeded with a yawn and him rubbing his eyes. "Sorry, I just didn't get that much sleep last night."

"If you want, we got some of those Pokebeans," one of the Sneasel said, who had just overheard their conversation. "They give you lots of of energy!" Shadow considered this. The Pokebeans were really good, and they did give energy.

"You don't mind if I have one?" he said. "It's no issue!" Sneasel said. "Weavile found a bunch of them, and we've got too many. So you can have some if you like." He nodded. Sneasel led him to Weavile.

"Those Pokebeans should be able to help him," Skitty said. "We were given some and they pack a lot of energy, and they taste good too. Only thing is that they're a bit too crunchy for my liking."

"Ahh, who cares about Glowstick?" Monferno scoffed. "All this means is that he gets time off from doing this. Why do we have to do this work anyway? It's stupid! It's not our fault that the storm caused the leaves to fall."

"Actually it kind of is," Eevee commented. Monferno and Electrike glared at Eevee. Despite the fear developing inside her, she continued. "The Emerald Shrine wouldn't have been knocked over and broken if you hadn't chased Fennekin into it. Hence we wouldn't have to clear it away if it was still standing."

"It's not our fault _somebody_ decided run into it!" Electrike yelled. Fennekin looked away in shame. Her ears lowered, and her eyes were downcast. _They're right,_ Fennekin thought. _It is my fault…_

"Hey cut it out you two!" a voice shouted. Shadow came back to them. "We're supposed to be clearing the shrine. Not blaming someone who broke it, even if it was an accident or on purpose. It doesn't matter who did it. It already happened. Why stay focused on the past when the present's right in front of you? You read history, wonder about tomorrow's mystery, but you should play around with the present."

"Oh great," Monferno scoffed. "I already got Tyrantrum scolding me. I don't need a young kid telling what to do!" The tension between the two fighting type pokemon was beginning to grow more and more. Shadow stared at Monferno, the other pokemon doing the same. Both eyes were filled with a fiery blaze.

"So what?" Shadow growled. "You shouldn't be hanging onto something that already happen. It won't help you in the long run. So why do you do it now? Is this really going to benefit you?"

"Heh," Monferno scoffed. "If that's true, then why do you defend her? She's worthless! She can barely do anything right! And when Fennekin does, it ends up making the situation worse."

"Grrr, she's not worthless!" he yelled. This caught everyone by surprise. Especially Fennekin. _Why would he defend me?_ She wondered. _What have I ever done right in my life? He doesn't understand half of the things I've gone through and done._

Even Electrike was stunned for a moment. But he shook it off. "If she's not worthless, then what has she done for you?" Electrike inquired. "Has she done anything good for you? Or did she just run off for no reason?"

"And speaking of which," Monferno began. "What exactly have you done? Nothing! You just randomly showed up in the village for no reason! And pokemon just accepted you in open arms!" At that point, all three pokemon were at the verge of launching at each other. But then…

" **Help… please…"**

Shadow's eyes widened. The anger in him vanished. He heard a voice in his head calling for help. _Where did that voice come from?_ The Riolu thought. He looked around, wondering where the voice was coming from. Not to mention, he began to ignore Monferno.

"Hey! Hey!" Monferno yelled. "Are you even listening to me?" Shadow paid no attention. He was trying to find where the owner of the voice was. _Use the aura Shadow,_ he thought. Without closing his eyes, he focused and paid no attention to anyone around him.

Darkness surrounded the area. Different colors of aura appeared near him. He looked around. _Come on,_ he thought. _Call out again so I can find you!_ Then, he saw a glint of aura off in the southern direction. _There it is!_ He inwardly exclaimed. He turned his back to Monferno and everyone else.

"Hey Glowstick!" Monferno shouted. This time, he had caught Shadow's attention. The Riolu had forgotten about Monferno. "Don't you…" Monferno began to say, but he was cut off by a brush of wind. Shadow ran off.

"Heh, looks like Glowstick is a coward after all," Electrike scoffed. "No, I don't think that was it," Skitty said. " I think he sensed something nearby. Something must be wrong. Which way did he go?" They looked around, hoping to find the direction the Riolu went in. However, he was nowhere in sight.

Shadow ran to the edge of the village and looked around. _Where did that voice come from? It sounded like a child._ "Hello?!" he called out. "Is anyone there?" There was no answer. _Maybe it's outside the village…_ he thought. The Riolu moved his head back and forth once more, and then ran out of the village, not even heeding the calls of the other pokemon looking for him.

" **Help...Please…"** the voice called out again in his head. It was even louder than before. Shadow knew that he must be close. Then, he saw it. There, laying on the ground, covered in mud and sticks, was what appeared to be a grayish-dog like pokemon. The Riolu gasped, and ran over and kneeled next to the pokemon.

"Hello?" he said. Shadow put his paw on the pokemon's body. He was breathing. "Can you hear me?" the Riolu asked. He began to gently shake the poor pokemon. "Say something!" Shadow exclaimed. To his surprise, the pokemon's eyes slowly opened. He sighed in relief. The gray pokemon groaned.

"Uggghhh," he moaned, opening his eyes wider. He shifted his head, seeing the shadow of a pokemon over him. "What...happened?" The pokemon tried to stand up, shaking off the leaves, but soon fell over, only to be caught. He looked back up at the figure in front of him. Now that his eyes were fully open, he could make out images. Pointed ears. Two dreadlocks. A mask-like face. And...light?

"Don't push yourself," the Riolu urged him. "I found you lying here on the ground, hurt, and covered in mud." Now he knew what pokemon species this was. It was a Riolu. But it wasn't any normal one. It was a shiny Riolu. Though, where did that light come from?

"Here," Shadow said. "You look pretty banged up. I'll take you to the village. I know someone who can help you." He picked up the pokemon and began to walk back towards the Emerald Village.

"Who are you?" the pokemon he was carrying said. "My name is Shadow," he answered. _Ironic,_ the pokemon thought. "What is your name?" "My name is Poochyena," he answered Shadow. The Riolu started to carry him back to the village.

"How did you end up this way?" Shadow asked. Poochyena lowered his head. "Well, you see… My brother and I, who is also named Poochyena, were walking near Rocky Bluff. Then, because of all the rain we had last night, there was a landslide! We were both caught in it. I managed to escape, but I couldn't find my brother! So I ran and tried to find someone to help me. Though, I guess I collapsed from all that running."

Shadow understood now. Poochyena's brother got caught in a landslide. All because of the rain they had last night. He had to get him back to the village. Not just to fix his injuries, but to also maybe assemble a search party to find his brother. Though, he had no idea where Rocky Bluff was. The Riolu also hoped that Tyrantrum would let him go. After all, he is the fastest out of all the pokemon in the village.

"We'll help you find your brother," the Riolu assured him. Shadow's eyes widened at the statement. _Why did I say that?_ He thought. _Why did I decide to help someone I don't even know again? First Sylveon, now Poochyena. It feels strange. I can't understand why…_

"You will?" Poochyena said as he lifted his head to him. Shadow couldn't go back on his word now. He was a person, erm well, pokemon that intended to finish something he started. Shadow would help Poochyena. "Yes," he answered. Poochyena's eyes widened with happiness.

"Oh thank you! Thank you!" he exclaimed in delight. "We'll find my brother soon!" _What have I gotten myself into?_ He thought. _I don't know if Poochyena's brother is alive. Heck, I don't even know if the village would want to help, considering they are all cleaning._ He paused his thoughts for a moment.

A voice spoke in the back of his head. " _Give them a chance...to be happy…"_ Shadow's eyes widened. He had heard that voice before. It was during that time when he had heard Eevee's voice. The voice sounded familiar. But he couldn't quite place where he had heard it. For one thing, this voice wanted the Riolu to help. Though, what could he do?

 _What do I do?_ Shadow thought. _Do I trust this voice? It doesn't seem like it's bad. After all, it did lead me to Sylveon when she was looking for Eevee. Maybe, it can help me._ He looked back at Poochyena, who fell asleep, resting his head on Shadow's shoulder. The Riolu sighed. _I guess helping him out wouldn't be such a bad idea. After all, isn't helping others a good thing?_ He had decided to trust the voice for now. The Riolu didn't exactly put full faith in it, but he wanted to test its trust. Shadow picked up speed and raced towards the village, with Poochyena resting on his shoulders.

"Shadow?!" Eevee called out. "Where are you?!" The children of the village had stopped working and were looking for the Riolu, who had just ran off without saying a word. Monferno was especially ticked off, not just because of the fact that the Riolu ran off and left them to do the work, but also because he completely ignored him as well. _I'm gonna punch Glowstick when he gets back,_ Monferno thought. _Nobody ignores me!_

A rush of wind blew past Monferno, knocking him off his feet. Electrike began to laugh, only to be met with a stern look from Monferno. The pokemon immediately went silent. The others noticed the brush of wind as well. They looked in the direction it was blowing to, and noticed the golden Riolu. And on his shoulders, was an injured Poochyena.

"Altaria!" he yelled. Said pokemon rushed to his side. Shadow looked up as her, not bothered by the weight of Poochyena on his shoulders. "What is the matter, Shadow?" she asked. His head gestured to his side. "Oh my," she said. "What happened to him? Quickly, we must get him into the medical room."

He continued to carry the injured Poochyena towards the medical section of Tyrantrum's home. The other pokemon continued to stare at the pokemon he was carrying. But no one said a word, as Shadow carried him into the house. He passed his room, and went down the hall. To his surprise, for a second he could've sworn he saw the hallway turn from its wooden floors and walls to that of metallic sidings and floors.

 _I saw this earlier…_ Shadow thought. _It felt familiar. And yet, if felt like a nightmare. Why am I seeing this? And of all places...why in here? Arrgghh! I hate this! For now I'll have to ignore it. I've got other things to do…_

Once he entered the room, the Riolu stopped. Altaria was right behind him. "Put him gently down on the bed," she said to him. Shadow nodded in response. Coming over to the bed, he carefully took the sleeping Poochyena off of his shoulder, and put him lying on the bed. He stood back, and let out a sigh.

"He needs rest," Altaria explained. "Skitty and I will check on him in a bit. Why don't you go and tell Tyrantrum what happened. We'll get him all fixed up. Don't worry." "Thanks Altaria," he said, and closed the door behind him. The Riolu rushed out of the house to find Tyrantrum. Once he found him, he explained how he found Poochyena.

"I see," the village elder answered him. "We cannot let Poochyena's brother be stranded in the mudslide. However, Rocky Bluff is quite far from here, so it would take a while for a search party to get there. And with all the mud that rain has caused, there's no telling how much time would be wasted while trekking through it."

"What if I go?" Shadow asked. "I'm faster than anyone else in the village. I could probably reach it in a few minutes." It was true. With the Riolu's incredible speed, he would be able to reach Rocky Bluff. However, Tyrantrum knew that it was unwise to send Shadow out of all the pokemon in the village. He had no experience, barely any knowledge of the area, and a bad idea to send just one pokemon into a mystery dungeon. Not to mention nobody would be able to catch up with him.

"I'm sorry Shadow," Tyrantrum admitted. "But I cannot allow you to go alone. No one in the village can keep up with you, and going alone into a mystery dungeon is not wise. We'll have to wait until the mud dries up in order to go rescue Poochyena."

To this, Shadow did not give into defeat. He couldn't give up on Poochyena now. He promised the voice in his head that he would help. "But Tyrantrum!" he exclaimed. "Poochyena might not have time! We can't just wait!"

Tyrantrum slammed his foot on the ground. "I said no Shadow!" he roared. The Riolu didn't flinch. He wasn't afraid of Tyrantrum, but he knew as of now, he wouldn't be able to change his mind. "I will not endanger the lives of the pokemon in the village for one pokemon. And I will not allow you to go. Understand?" Shadow nodded his head. "Now why don't you go and help the others?" the village elder said more gently. The Riolu wandered off towards the center of the village.

 _It's not fair,_ he thought. _I promised Poochyena that I would rescue his brother. Now, I can't._ Shadow hid behind one of the houses. He gazed towards the pile of leaves that was the Emerald Shrine. The other pokemon were nowhere near done. He sighed as his ears lowered in defeat. _We're not even gonna be done by the time the sun sets._

Shadow turned his head in the southern direction. _Rocky Bluff right? I ran in the southern direction and found Poochyena. So it must've been close by._ Looking back and forth between the working pokemon and the village southern entrance, he made a decision.

 _Tyrantrum can say whatever he wants. He has no control over me. I am who I say I am. Poochyena's brother can't wait. He needs help. If nobody will go where no one can go, then I will…_

He ran to the southern entrance of the village. Nobody noticed him at the moment. _Good,_ he thought. _No one will notice me leaving._ However, just as he was about to leave, a voice called to him. "Shadow! Wait up!" It was Fennekin.

She came running to his side. _How did she notice me?_ He thought. "Where are you going?" Fennekin asked. He sighed. The Riolu knew Fennekin wouldn't tell anyone what he would do, however this was very risky. Perhaps, now would be a good time to test her trust.

"I'm going to Rocky Bluff," he stated. "I promised Poochyena that I would find his brother. But Tyrantrum said that it was dangerous, and he would not risk the lives of the Pokémon of the village to go out there, and he forbid me from going out there alone. So, I'm still going to go out there. I made a promise, and I'm not going back on it."

Fennekin understood. Though she didn't like the fact that he was going on his own, and against Tyrantrum's wishes. Shadow may not be a pokemon born in the Emerald Village, but he was still entitled for punishment because he is living there. And she, out of all the Pokémon in the village, knew how hard Tyrantrum could be.

But the fact of leaving the village just for a little while sounded...interesting. It was almost like an exploration team's mission. Unfortunately, at times like these, the village didn't have an exploration team. Well, more like they _used_ to have a team. But, no one would speak of that.

"Please Fennekin," he pleaded. "Don't tell anyone that I'm doing this now. I want to help Poochyena, but I can't if Tyrantrum holds me back…" "I won't tell," she stated. Shadow inwardly sighed in relief.

"Because I'm coming with you."

"What!?" He said. This he did not expect from the fox pokemon at all. From what he had seen and noticed from her, she didn't seem like the type of pokemon to do this. And this is after the conversation they had a few nights ago. Did Fennekin just _forgive_ him that easily? Now, instead of saying, " _No! I will not allow you to come with me,"_ like he felt he should have at that moment, he said, "Why do you want to come with me?" She lowered her head at his question, ears drooping slowly. Fennekin sighed.

"I've… I've always wanted to go on an adventure, you see," she admitted slowly. "I've never really been outside the village before. Only once, but…" Fennekin trailed off. Shadow waited patiently for her answer. Then, she looked up with courage and determination in her eyes. For Shadow, he could feel her aura flare up. This was not in a bad way at all, oh no. In fact, it was in a rather good way.

"I want to explore the world," Fennekin stated with courage. "That is my dream. My goal. I want to see what's out there, beyond the village. Beyond all that I've known for the years of my life." She walked past the golden Riolu, who stood there, eyes widened with shock, at her shocking revelation and bravery. The wind slowly began to blow. Her fur shook softly in the breeze. "And…" she trailed off. "I made a promise long ago, that I would find someone. But, my memory is hazy of that promise, but somehow, I will fulfill it!"

" _...Promise me…"_ a voice spoke in the back of his mind. It was the same voice he had been hearing for a while. _Promise you what?_ He thought with uncertainty. What was this voice asking of him? Well, then he thought of that other thing the voice. Something about happiness. _Give them happiness…_ he thought.

In truth, it would be a good idea for Fennekin to come with him, since he didn't know the lay of the land that well, and it would be good to go into a mystery dungeon in a group instead of alone. However, she couldn't keep up with him, not to mention that she doesn't like to fight. If she was put in a situation, Fennekin would fight, Shadow knew this after seeing her attack Tyrantrum. But the speed part was something that needed to be solved. Unless…

She still stood there, waiting anxiously for his answer. _Please Shadow,_ she silently begged. _Please let me go with you…_ Then, after what felt like years, to her, the Riolu sighed and turned his head.

"It'll be dangerous," he answered. "Are you sure you are up to this? We would be going into a mystery dungeon, one filled with pokemon that we would have to fight. I have seen you fight, but…" he trailed off, turning away from her. "I have noticed that you do not like to fight because of, well, some experience."

Fennekin looked down in shame. True, she did sometimes, in certain situations, freeze up in panic, but she could get past that. Fennekin would have to someday. Plus, on the brightside, she would have Shadow with her, so they could cover each other when need be.

"I...I still want to go," she said weakly. "No matter what…Tyrantrum says." Shadow immediately regretted what he had said earlier. _Dangit, I just crushed her spirit. What kind of pokemon am I?_ He thought sadly. Then, a new voice rang out in his mind.

" _Shadow, even if the world is against you, know that I'll always remain right by your side. Remember that…"_ This was new. Wait. This was the voice that said this to him. He had a feeling when he said something like this to Tyrantrum that someone had said it to him. What was this voice trying to tell him? Then, he realized.

 _Encourage,_ he thought. _Encourage her. Encourage them. Give them hope. Give them a chance to be happy…_ Now he understood. The Riolu's job was to encourage those who were down, help those in need, but most of all, be a friend. _A...a friend?_ He questioned. _Have I ever...had a friend?_

His memory loss didn't help, but from what he did remember up until now, he had never considered anyone from the village a "true" friend. Did he have a friend before he had lost his memory? That he did not know. But what he did know was somebody needed him right now. And that somebody was Fennekin.

 _I'm not the best at being a motivator,_ he thought. _But at least I can try._ With his courage raised up, he began to speak. "Fennekin, don't forget that I'll be right by your side with you. We're doing this together. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise…" She looked up at him with surprise and shock, and widened eyes. "You...you promise?" Fennekin asked.

He put his paw out towards her, forming a fist. "I keep my promises. You can count on me." His lips tugged into a smile, something he felt he hadn't done in ages. Though, the Riolu liked this feeling. The feeling of happiness. Shadow wanted more of it.

Fennekin lifted her ears. "Than...Thank you!" she said in happiness. She also put her paw in a fist. Then, her paw met his paw in a fist bump. "Does...does this make us a team?" she asked.

" _Aw yeah baby! This makes us a team!"_ A voice replayed in his head. _Was I...a part of a team?_ He then thought back to Fennekin's words. Then he realized. _Eevee said that she always wanted to become part of an exploration team...That voice let me be a part of that team, so I might as well return the favor._

"Yes, yes we are," Shadow answered. Fennekin's eyes beamed in excitement. Then, their paws separated. He turned south. "Now, let's go rescue Poochyena." "But, how will I keep up with you?" Fennekin asked. Shadow thought for a moment. _Well, she is about one foot shorter than me, so...I could carry her._

"I..could carry you, if that's alright," he offered. She didn't care at the moment. Fennekin was going on an adventure. Something like this didn't bother her. "Yeah that's fine with me," She answered. "Then let's go," he said. And the two were off.

* * *

"Take a left! No, another right! Shadow! Slow down, I'm getting a headache!" He almost growled, but the annoyance was still there. To be fair, Fennekin had never ran at high speeds before, never mind _carried_ at high speeds. But at least he thought that she should be at least grateful for him being able to transport her all this way.

The Riolu had to admit, Fennekin was surprisingly very light. Now he didn't know if that was true or not, but it sure felt way, even with the fact that he was carrying he in his arms (which he tried to avoid at all costs bringing up the fact that it was extremely weird, mind you) But at least he would've thought by now that he would've had some sort of exhaustion from carrying someone. Perhaps the Riolu did have super strength.

 _Next thing you know, I'll be able to fly and teleport and distort space and time,_ he couldn't help admitting to himself. Though, for one thing, it kinda scared him that he had this kind of strength. It almost felt like he was _engineered_ for this. _No, that's not possible,_ Shadow thought. _I must have some sort of biological family out there somewhere._

"Shadow stop!" Fennekin yelled. Shadow was suddenly dragged out of thoughts. However he couldn't stop. When he tried, his feet dug into the ground, setting dirt flying everywhere. Fennekin was tossed from his arms and onto the ground. She, however, wasn't hurt in the slightest way.

The same could not be said for the Riolu. He unfortunately was unable to stop, and thus was sent crashing into a tree. Shadow felt the force of the tree alright. He moaned in pain as his body slid down the tree. Then, he was laying on the ground. Fennekin got up from where she was and looked around for the Riolu. She gasped when she saw his state.

"Oh my Arceus!" Fennekin exclaimed. She made her way over to him. "Shadow, are you alright?!" The Riolu groaned in response. "I'm so sorry," Fennekin admitted. "I should've said something earlier! Are you injured? Do you want me to do anything for you?" Shadow moaned as he began to try to sit up. "Help me up, would ya?" he asked. Fennekin did so, as she pushed on his back and got him into a sitting position.

To his surprise, the pain suddenly went away. He thought that he would at least have a concussion, or something else serious, but he felt as if he was just fine. _This happened when I fell from the sky,_ Shadow thought. _At first I felt pain, and then...it went away. My burns went away as well. Why is this happening to me?_

"Shadow?" Fennekin asked. He turned to her. "Are you alright?" To her surprise, she saw the Riolu jump up to his feet as if nothing happened to him. Fennekin looked at him with shock in her eyes. "How…?" she trailed off. Seeing at what she meant, Shadow answered. "I don't know…Why did you tell me to stop?"

Her shock went away when he asked her that. "We're here," she answered. He looked beyond the trees, and his eyes saw it. A big cliff, surrounded by a few trees and a small river. _That must be it,_ he thought. The Riolu began to walk towards it, with Fennekin shortly behind him. His ears moved from side to side, listening to the sounds of the area.

"There might be some other pokemon," he said to her. "And they may want to fight. So just stay silent for now." She nodded her head. The sounds of the wind rustling echoed through the area. Nothing made a sound other than that. The trees began to clear away as they made their way out of the forest and into the clearing next to the bluff. So far so good.

Then, his ears perked up at a noise. It sounded like...yelling? He looked around. "Poochyena?" he yelled out. No response. Fennekin, noticing his questioning look as he yelled, spoke. "Did you hear him?" she asked. Shadow turned his head to her. "I don't know," he answered. "It could have been him, and yet...it may not have been him. Poochyena said his brother was caught in a mudslide, though I do not see one."

He stopped walking for a moment and paused. The Riolu closed his eyes. Fennekin gave him a questioning look. Then, she gasped as she saw the two, black appendages on his head raise up slightly, as a red, fiery energy surrounded his body. _He must be searching for Poochyena's aura,_ she thought.

 _He is special,_ her thoughts continued. _And yet, I feel useless being here. What am I supposed to do? When we came out here, Shadow immediately took charge of the situation. All I did was make him accidentally run into a tree. I shouldn't have come with him in the first place. I should've just stayed home…_

The red aura disappeared from the Riolu's body. The black appendages lowered to their original positions. Red, ruby eyes suddenly opened abruptly. Shadow gasped. "He's this way!" he spoke. The Riolu began to run off, though not as fast as he could go. Fennekin was startled by the event. "Shadow! Wait for me!" she yelled running after him.

After he ran through the clearing, he came to the edge of Rocky Bluff. What he saw was astonishing. Trees appeared to have been dug up. Rocks and mud were scattered everywhere. It was definitely destruction at its finest. If Poochyena's brother was anywhere, it would be here. Though, the only problem was that they may have to go through the mud to find him.

"Poochyena?!" Shadow called out. He was answered with the sound of mumbling. The Riolu's bod moved quickly, trying to find the poor pokemon, while also shouting his name, "Poochyena?! Poochyena!?" he called out. The mumbling got louder and louder. By that time, Fennekin caught up with him.

"Poochyena?!" she shouted. "We're here to help you! Shout if you can hear us!" below her, the mud slightly vibrated. Without a second thought, the fox pokemon began to dig. Shadow, hearing the sound of mud being torn up, rushed over to her. He sensed the vibrations that came from underneath the mud as well.

"Keep digging," he stated. "Judging by the vibrations, he's down below us." She kept going and going, and the little hole became bigger and bigger. The mud piled up behind them as it was being removed from the ground. At last, the ground caved way as a small, gray furred body was seen below them.

"Poochyena?" Shadow called to him. "Is that you? We came here to rescue you!" The pokemon was covered in mud, and his fur was damp. When he had heard his name, he looked back up at him. "Yes!" he exclaimed. His tail wagged in excitement, and his eyes widened in happiness. "That's me! Did you come to rescue me? Are you an official exploration team?"

"Uh well…" Shadow trailed off. They weren't exactly a… "Of course we are!" Fennekin exclaimed. He looked at her with confused eyes. "But we're not a…" he began, but she cut him off. "It doesn't matter if we're official or not. We're still a team!" she whispered to him. He didn't exactly like the fact that she was lying to Poochyena. Though, perhaps it was only to keep the poor pokemon's spirit up.

"Awesome!" Poochyena shouted. "Could you uh, get me out of here please? I'm kinda stuck in this mud." He gestured his head down to his paws, which were buried deep in the mud. "We'll be down there in a second," Shadow told him. "Just as we…"

Then, the sound of rumbling was heard above them. Both Shadow and Fennekin looked up, only to receive horrified looks. Large boulders and rocks were falling straight towards them. They must've been loosened by the most recent landslide. However, the thing that worried them the most was when those boulders hit the ground, not only cover the hole where Poochyena was, but possibly may even severely hurt him.

Shadow had to think fast. How could they stop those boulders from hurting Poochyena? There was no way he could do this by himself, rescuing Poochyena and blocking the boulders at the same time. He looked around the bluff to see if there was anything that could be used to block the rockslide. At once he saw it. There were a few ledges coming out of the bluff. The Riolu remembered something. Something that Tyrantrum had taught him about typings.

" _The Fighting type moves that you use, such as Aura Sphere and Force Palm, are strong against Normal, Steel, and Rock type pokemon. Bone Rush, which is a Ground type move, is strong against Steel, Electric, and Rock Type pokemon as well." That's it!_ He thought in triumph. His gaze went to Fennekin, who had a serious look on her face.

"Fennekin," he said. "I want you to go and grab one of those vines from those trees over there. We'll have Poochyena grab hold of it and pull him out." She still had a questioning look on her face. "And what about the boulders? How are we going to stop those?"

He turned and looked up. Then, he turned back to her. A blaze was beginning to burn in his eyes. A smirk grew on his face. "I'll take care of those," he answered. "I want you to rescue Poochyena. Don't worry about me. I'm going to cover for you. I'm counting on you Fennekin."

His fur began to glow in a bright, shimmering light. He brought his paws together, and then brought them apart, revealing a blue bone sword. The Riolu grabbed it, and then snapped in half against his knee, making the bone into two bones. With great strength, he sprang upwards towards the nearest ledge, not even fearing the impending rockslide that was nearing him. Shadow jumped from ledge to ledge, gradually getting higher and higher up Rocky Bluff.

Fennekin was watching in shock and awe. In awe at the sight that she was seeing before her, and shock at what he had just told her. _He needs me…_ Fennekin thought. _I am needed. It doesn't matter if everyone thinks I'm useless. Shadow needs me. We're a team! He's counting on me!_

Shaking the shock off, she began to run as fast as she could towards the nearest batch of trees. She had never felt so happy and full of excitement in her life. _Shadow needs me. He's counting on me! I need to believe in myself. I can do it!_ She reached the trees in a quick manner. Fennekin looked around at the vines that hung in front of her. _I'm going to need a very long one,_ she thought. Then, Fennekin saw one that looked just long enough. _There!_ She exclaimed in thought. She began using Scratch to cut away at the vine.

Meanwhile, Shadow was over halfway up the bluff. The rocks and boulders began to close in on him. He reached another ledge and jumped towards one of the larger ones. With great might and strength, the Riolu used the two bone swords in his paws to slice through the boulder with ease. The small pieces of what used to be the boulder fell away from where Poochyena was.

 _I got one down,_ he thought as he neared the next ledge. _But I've still got more to go through…_ Shadow again jumped off the ledge and sliced through another boulder. He began to repeat this over and over again. _I won't allow any of these to get past me._ The Riolu glanced down for a brief second, noticing that Fennekin was gone. _Please hurry Fennekin,_ he thought. _I might not know the limit of my true strength._

Over by the trees, Fennekin continued to scratch away at the vine, hoping to Arceus that it would finally come off. _Come on, come on!_ She silently prayed. _I need this! Poochyena is in danger! Please Arceus, let me have this vine!_ Then, as if to answer, the vine finally gave way. It dropped to the ground in front of her. _Yes!_ Fennekin thought in happiness. She then grabbed it with her mouth and began to drag it over to where Poochyena was stuck in the hole. Fennekin went as fast as she could.

Every boulder Shadow sliced through missed Poochyena's hole. He would continue to go at it until every boulder missed that hole. _Keep going Shadow,_ he reassured himself. _You have to keep going! For Poochyena's sake! For Fennekin's sake! For everyone's sake!_ The feeling of nostalgia crept over him as soon as he thought that. He shook his head to it. _I must not look at my past. What matters most is what is here and now!_

The Riolu then tried to slice through another boulder, only to find that he couldn't. To his surprise, the boulder shot mud back at him. "Wha..Ahhh!" he yelled. Shadow evaded the shot of mud by landing on another ledge. He soon found out that it wasn't a boulder. In fact, it had eyes and two, rocky arms. It was a pokemon!

"Geodude!" it said. "Geodude! Geodude!" _Its name must be Geodude,_ he thought. A few explosions were heard above him, as even more Geodude appeared in front of him. And unfortunately, they didn't exactly look all very happy. _You have got to be kidding me,_ he inwardly complain. Nevertheless, clenching his bones of aura, he rapidly began to hit the Geodude out of the way, while also slicing through any boulder that was normal.

She could hear the sound of explosions above her. Through, Fennekin ignored them, and continued to run back to the bluff where Poochyena was. Her legs ached and she was becoming tired. _I can't stop now,_ she thought. _Not when I'm so close!_ After a minute or so, she finally reached the hole when…

"Geodude!" She frantically moved out of the way when a falling Geodude nearly landed on top of her. "Geodude…." it sighed. It had fainted. Fennekin looked up. She saw Shadow Bone Rushing some boulders, along with many, falling, fainted Geodude. Fennekin dashed away with the vine in her mouth, constantly dodging the falling pokemon. At last, she had finally made it to the hole.

With one of the ends of the vine in her mouth, she threw the rest down in the the hole. "Grab onto this!" she yelled down to him, while having the vine in her mouth. The vine dangled in front of Poochyena. Leaning forward, he was able to grab ahold of it with his teeth. "Got it!" a muffled voice shouted. "I'm going to pull you up!" Fennekin shouted to him. "Just hold on!"

 _Where are all these pokemon coming from?_ Shadow questioned mentally. One after another, he hit the Geodude with Bone Rush. Each fainted and fell away from where Fennekin and Poochyena were at the moment. Then, he noticed that the amount of boulders, as well as Geodudes, began to dissipate. Perhaps that was the end of the rockslide. He hit one last Geodude before reaching a ledge. No more boulders were in sight. Shadow sighed in relief. _Maybe that was the end._

Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case. Out of nowhere, a giant explosion was heard at the top of the bluff. Dust swirled around as what looked to be a giant boulder began to fall. If it were to land on the ground, it would completely smash into the mud hole where Fennekin and Poochyena are now.

 _I've got to stop that thing before it hits the ground!_ Shadow inwardly yelled. He began to jump from ledge to ledge, hoping to get higher and higher so he could stop that bouder sooner. Thinking ahead, Shadow threw his bone swords at the falling boulder, silently praying that it would be enough force to slice it in half. Through, that wasn't the case.

Once the bones hit the boulder, it began to shake. Then, to his surprise, the boulder began to open up, as two, long arms and two legs came out of it, as well as a very, angry face. It stared at the Riolu with anger, having just woke up from a nap. Shadow's eyes widened. _Oh no,_ he thought.

"GOOOOLLLLEEEEMMMM!" It roared. The pokemon began to produce rocks out of thin air, and started to throw them at the Riolu. Shadow dodged them left and right, occasionally hitting the rocks with Force Palm. Then, he leapt at the Golem, charging up his fist with a Force Palm.

Fennekin heard the roar of the Golem above her. She could see Shadow trying to fight it in midair. Through, one thing was for sure, Shadow could not move that Golem out of the way in time. She had to move faster. Or else, she might be able to see Arceus sooner than expected.

She gathered her strength and begun to pull again at the vine. Poochyena's paws were stuck in the mud, making it even more difficult to pull the poor pokemon out of there before the Golem landed on top of them. _Please! Please!_ She silently prayed. _Arceus, give me the strength to pull Poochyena out!_ Fennekin increased her strength, as well as her speed, hoping that it would be enough to pull him out of there.

Down below, Poochyena could feel the mud around his paws begin to loosen and break away. "It's working!" he shouted with the vine in his mouth. She heard him alright. Fennekin continued to pull and pull, edging farther and farther from the hole with the vine in her mouth. And then, finally….the mud gave way.

Poochyena's paws were free.

Above them, and now halfway down the bluff, Shadow was still fighting the Golem. Though, he was able to see Poochyena being freed from the muddy prison that encompassed the pokemon's paws. _All right!_ He thought. But it wasn't over yet. Fennekin still had to get him out of the hole. All while avoiding the impending falling Golem that would land on them.

She could feel the force that was holding the vine back vanish. Poochyena was free! She continued to pull away from the hole. Slowly, Poochyena was being lifted out of the hole. Fennekin looked behind her, and saw Poochyena's paw reaching for the edge of the hole. Then she saw his other paw. Then his face. At last, his entire body was out of the hole. Fennekin let go of the vine. "Run!" she yelled, as the fox pokemon began to run away from the hole. Poochyena followed suite as he ran away too.

He finally saw the two of them run out of there. _Now's my chance!_ He thought. The Riolu jumped above the Golem. But then, the Golem began to make another rock. Shadow focused his paw behind him, as he began to gather aura in between them. His ruby red eyes, which were filled with a blazing fire, stared into the Golem's black ones. Then, the Golem unleashed it's Rock Throw!

"Auraaaaa….Spheeerrrreeeee!" Shadow shouted with all his might. He threw the sphere right into the Rock Blast, which broke through the rocks and slammed right into the Golem! But not only did the sphere hit the Golem, it exploded in its face and sent it falling to the ground even harder and faster than before! Golem slammed into the mud where Poochyena and Fennekin were only a few moments ago with devastating force! It was knocked out instantly.

Shadow found a ledge that was near him and landed on it. He jumped down from the remaining ledges towards the ground. At last, he was on solid ground once more. The Riolu looked around for Fennekin and Poochyena and saw them in the clearing. He immediately raced over to them, ignoring the pile of fainted Geodude he ran past at the moment.

"Are you alright?" he asked them. Both pokemon nodded their heads. "I am fine, thanks to both of you," Poochyena said. "Thank you for rescuing me. Without you, I wouldn't be here right now."

"You're welcome!" Fennekin said in happiness. She felt so excited that she was able to rescue someone. And for the first time as well! It felt so good, that she wanted to rescue even more pokemon and help them out. Shadow felt the same way. Helping out pokemon was something he now liked to do. This just proved it.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go home. Your brother is waiting for you…"

* * *

 _Journal Entry #2 October 3th_

 _Today, my friend Fennekin and I were able to rescue a Poochyena that was stuck in the mud from an impending rockslide, as well as from a few pokemon that were in the rockslide, such as Geodude and a Golem. I have to be honest, it was a lot of fun. Though I have to admit that I was a bit scared at one point when Poochyena and Fennekin almost didn't make it out of way in time when I was fighting that Golem, but in the end, they did, and I was able to Aura Sphere that Golem in the air straight into the mud! How cool is that?!_

 _Earlier in the day I had promised Poochyena that I would rescue his brother. And indeed we did. However, some of us weren't exactly happy with the two of us going off of our own when the village was still cleaning up after the most recent rainstorm. Tyrantrum especially, as well as Fennekin's parents, wondering where we had gone for the entire day. Oh they were mad. So, as punishment, they gave Fennekin a few extra chores to do, and I'm not allowed to leave the village to go exploring for a few days. Or rather, I can't exactly leave my room for a few days or speak to anyone._

 _I don't understand why we were given that harsh of a punishment. Yeah, I know they were worried when we went out, but we were able to rescue someone! Isn't that a good thing? I remember Eevee saying something about there being an exploration team from the village called "Team Emerald," but since then, there hasn't been any other teams. Maybe pokemon here don't want another exploration team after the other one went missing. One this is for sure though, and that is the fact that many pokemon of the village don't want anything to do with the outside world._

 _Needless to say, the Poochyena brothers were very happy to see each other again. They were both very grateful for what we did for them. In return for our kindness, they gave us some Poke, which is apparently the currency around here, and this Sparking Stone, which so happened to be the color red. Fennekin said that I could keep it, since she knew that her parents wouldn't want her to keep it._

 _The brothers were exploring Rocky Bluff after they had heard that something valuable was there. But unfortunately for them, all they found was this. To me, I think that it is special and valuable, because I will always remember what happened to with Fennekin and I._

 _If it's one thing that I learned from Fennekin today, it's that I can't do everything by myself. I wouldn't have been able to rescue Poochyena without her. If I was alone, then I probably would've gotten stuck in the mud or either failed to save him. I realized that sometimes, we all need help. And not just in a bad way, but in a good way. It makes things go faster. And better yet, more successful and fun._

 _I don't know why, but I feel as if I am changing. Not in the physical way, well that already happened. I don't feel as serious or "stiff" compared to when I came here. Now I feel more relaxed, and well, happy. I've had moments where I've felt like that my personality was the opposite, but now, I don't know what to think. Was I cold, harsh, and serious in the past? Is so, then why am I becoming more, hmm what's the word, happy, I guess? At peace? Happy to be around others? Did I ever feel that way in the past?_

 _Speaking of which, I had a strange dream last night. It felt as if I was dying, but then someone saved me. I don't know who they are, and yet I feel like I should know them. Though it was a memory, I'm not entirely sure if I should trust them. Then again, one of them convinced the other to save my life. And where did those thousands of voices come from?_

 _Well, for one thing, I guess I can't dwell on the past now. Not when I have no recollection of it. All I can think about is the few days after my punishment is over. And even though I am going against Tyrantrum's judgement...I want to start an exploration team. A voice in my head told me once that I should, "Give them a chance to be happy," and if I want to do that, then this is how. I was able to make the Poochyena brothers happy by reuniting them. I was able to make the Eeveelution siblings happy by getting the berries to heal their brother. At least I know that one pokemon in the village would want to join, being Fennekin. Through… what should I call it?_

He paused for a moment. Shadow began to think. In his right paw was the Sparkling Stone. The Riolu held it up to get a better look at it. The moonlight shined on it, and there was a flash. Shadow closed his eyes. And then, something flashed through his mind. Darkness was all around him. _Where am I?_ He thought. _Am I...in the same place where my dream was?_

" _He...name…"_ a female voice called out. It was the same one he had heard earlier. _Hello?_ Shadow called out. _Is anyone there? Please, can you answer me? "He...not getting...name…"_ The male voice has here as well. Like last time, both of them were cut off at certain points. " _How about…."_ It seemed like the female voice was muffled for a bit, while a distinctive " _No,"_ came a lot from the male voice. At last, the female voice was no longer muffled.

" _Prism…"_ the female voice trailed off. Once again, Shadow expected a " _No,"_ from the male voice. However, he would be mistaken. " _Yes…"_ the male voice trailed off. Then, a bright light began to engulf the Riolu. Shadow woke up in his bed. His journal was on his lap, with the pen in his left paw the Sparkling Stone in his right paw. A spark went through his mind. He began to write.

 _I have decided… The Team will be called "Team Prism."_

He closed his journal, put the Sparkling Stone away, and fell asleep.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **And...that's the end of Chapter 9! Yee! Let's get into some stuff!**

 **No I am not giving you the hint of who the voices are. I'm not giving spoilers XD So now Shadow's journey to the Lake of the Moone has been delayed, and oh! What do ya know! It's gonna be on Halloween! A full moon usually happens every 29 days or so, and one that is happening or the second time that month is called a Blue Moon. How convenient! And now Shadow considers Fennekin as his friend. I would say this is because of what happened between the two of them when they were rescuing Poochyena.**

 **Yes, Rocky Bluff is made up. Again had to come up with something unique cause it's a whole other continent. But what isn't fake is the Sparkling Stone! Indeed, Z-Moves will be in this! (as much as I hate them, considering it's basically a Final Smash and pretty much is Mega Evolution but with a buffed move and no cool form and no buffed stats and is not unique at all) But what ring will it turn into ooooooo Also the Golem is Kantonian, I can't stand its Alolan design lol**

 **Hah! You thought I was going to give the name of the exploration team, "Team Emerald?" Surprise, surprise! It's not! Ok, yeah I didn't feel like naming it Team Emerald cause the few Sonic-Pokemon crossovers that are mystery dungeon based are usually Team Emerald, so I wanted it to be original.**

 **Oh yeah, some of you will probably ask, "Well, if Shadow is a pokemon now, and if he understands the language, then why can't he read it?" He can speak it, but he's never actually seen it before, hence why he can't read it. *hears Pit falling through the sky* "I NEVER LEARNED HOW TO REEEEAAADDDD!" XD If anyone gets that reference good for you. Speaking of references, there's some Sonic references in there. See if you can find them!**

 **Lastly, thank to all of you who have reviewed, favorited, followed, or have just kept up with this story! I apologize for the delay. Christmas was a mess and so was New Year's. But hey, I'm getting back to it! But thank you guys! And review if you can! It means a lot to me and lets me know you enjoy the story!**

 **Until next time, See Ya Universe!**

 **-Palkia**


	11. Ch10 Matters of Time and Space

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! Palkia is back with Chapter 10! Yee! So exciting!**

 **Ok, so here in this chapter, we're gonna focus on some other matters. We're finally going to see Sonic again, as well as some legendaries. Shadow's not in this one, considering it sort of takes place as he is "grounded." So no Shadow this time, sorry….**

 **I have to say, the last chapter was the longest thus far, being over 11,000 words. Dang, that's a lot. I tried not to cram so much stuff into one chapter. Seeing from the overall views and visitors, you guys seemed to enjoy it, so I'm glad! Without further ado, Here We Go! (Off the rails! Don't you know it's time to raise our sails!) and now I got you hooked onto that song didn't I? XD Sorry.**

 **I do not own Pokémon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 10**

 **Matters of Time and Space**

A blue hedgehog raced through Windy Valley with astonishing speed. Leaves were blown off trees as he raced by. Dirt was turned into dust as his feet drifted swiftly across it. No one could make out what he was thinking. No one knew where he was going. All they knew was that the hedgehog was in a hurry.

For Sonic, the most delicious of chili dogs could not have fazed him out of his sprint through the area. Even then, he wasn't even in the happiest of moods. In fact, this is probably the first time in a while since he felt, well, upset and troubled. It didn't help that the most recent events made him feel this way.

 _He's been dead for over a week Sonic,_ he thought to himself. _Get over it already! There's more stuff you need to do now!_ Yes indeed, it had been over a week since that fateful day when the blue hedgehog had been pushed out of the way by his "savior." By the first few days, Sonic had gotten over it. That it, until someone came to the door of Tails' Workshop. Actually more than someone. More like a _crowd._

Sonic remembered it well. The knock at the door. He himself going over to open it. Seeing Knuckles comfort Rouge as she began to cry for some reason. She was holding a _darkened_ red chaos emerald. The one that a certain black and red hedgehog usually carried with him.

Then, behind them, another pair was there. Silver was trying to calm down Blaze. This, to Sonic, was very surprising, as the princess of the Sol dimension usually never lost her cool that badly. But what was very scary was the sight of the black flames in her palms, something that Sonic had never seen before. As he mentioned it to Blaze, she seemed to panic at the sight of these "dark flames" as Silver dubbed them, claiming that she had never been able to do something like that before. And yet, even when she admitted that she had gotten angry in the past, dark flames had never occurred in her entire life.

Then, after Blaze calmed down, she gave Sonic a bag. In it were what seemed to be "darkened" sol emeralds. All seven of them had lost their light and power. And Silver, who stood there right next to him, extended his left hand, revealing a purple chaos emerald that had also lost its power and light. That meant two out of the seven chaos emeralds, as well as all seven sol emeralds, were now out of power.

And so, a meeting between the seven friends was called. Amy came running over as soon as she heard the news. Though, maybe a bit too fast, as she came crashing into Sonic in the usual, old fashion way. He had to admit, it was a good thing he didn't love her, otherwise he probably would never get away from her for the rest of his life. But that's besides the point.

Everyone had said their part, starting with Rouge. She explained how she had found the red chaos emerald and how it went out. Then, she had gone to Knuckles and explained the situation, and thus traveled here. Silver and Blaze explained their side of the story was well. However, that wasn't what worried Sonic the most. It was when two sentences were said.

 _Seven shall rise, and seven shall fall. Others will try, but one will stand tall…_

It was the first few lines of the thing the strange voice had told him (and hasn't heard from since) This chilled Sonic to the bone. Now he knew that whatever had happened that night was not a dream. Well, for the most part, other than the fact that Shadow was dead, in some sort of way. But, Sonic still hasn't even figured out the meaning of this, riddle, he wanted to call it. He didn't want to tell the others about it, and if he did, it would probably make him look crazy.

And so, they all agreed on a desperate search for the rest of the chaos emeralds, each hoping that if both the chaos and sol emeralds were brought together, their energy would be restored. Unfortunately, they were going to have to search blindly, considering that the emeralds may have already lost some energy. Sonic didn't exactly mind. He loved to take an adventure around the world.

One thing still bothered him, and that was what the strange voice had said to him. " _ **Shadow was chosen for a reason,**_ _the voice continued on._ _**He was chosen because of his courage and bravery. His heart is the purest of all, and it shines brighter than any star in the sky."**_ What did Shadow have that he didn't? And what did the voice mean by chosen? The black hedgehog's heart being pure? Something was definitely up.

He stopped for the moment. The hedgehog felt the ground rumble. Was there an earthquake? But why here of all places? Did Eggman do something again? The ground began to shake, causing Sonic to fall. "Whoa!" he cried out as he hit the ground. He decided that it would be best to remain down until it passed. Though, this wasn't exactly the case.

Then, he decided that it wasn't an earthquake. The shaking of the ground had gotten more stronger and going off at a steady beat. Was it caused from...stomping? If so, then where did it come from? Sonic then turned his head and got his answer. The blue hedgehog immediately ducked his head down into the bushes. He was shocked at what he saw. Never had he seen something like this. Sure, he had seen water gods, bio-engineered, giant lizards, literal gods of time and darkness for Chaos sake. But this...this for some odd reason, it just scared him. Second that, it _terrified_ him!

Oh, it was huge! It probably was taller than even the Final Hazard! Four legs it was treading the ground on, and with each foot stomp it made what seemed to be a time distortion. It was blue, with crimson eyes that seemed to give Shadow a run for his money in the death stare contest. What was even more terrifying was that there was no white around its eyes! Its head was covered in steel, as well as parts of its body, such as its feet. Parts of its body seemed to glow an eerie light-blue. On its back was what appeared to be a gear of steel. And finally, embedded in its chest, was a glowing blue diamond.

To Sonic, this seemed to be the blue-steel dragon of death.

The hedgehog felt as if he couldn't even run away from it. Not even with his speed. Sonic wasn't usually afraid of much, except water of course. But this. Oh, _this._ It was something that everyone should feel afraid of at that moment. Sonic just laid there on the ground, stiff as a stick, begging for this _monstrosity_ of a bring to go past him and leave his judgement for another day.

Then, with a mighty THUD, the dragon's metallic foot landed mere inches away from the bush. Sonic could feel the time distortion flow through him. That was definitely not a good thing. Then, the hedgehog looked at himself, and saw a body that he hasn't seen in years, or rather since the Time Eater incident. _What the heck!_ He thought as he looked at his smaller body and shorter quills.

Another time distortion went through his body as the back foot of the dragon stepped close to the the bush. Once again, Sonic looked over himself, and was met his current body. _Thank Chaos,_ he thought. _I did not want to go through those years again._ He still peeked through the bush, seeing the dragon going past him.

Sonic inwardly sighed in relief, as if death was upon him and it was never coming back. Through, he wanted to make sure that it was completely out of sight before he made a run for it. After all, he had just seen what it could do, running away from it when the dragon was eyeing him wouldn't exactly be the best of choices.

The dragon stopped. It then lowered its head to the ground and seemed to have nuzzled it. _What the heck is it doing now?_ He thought in concern. The blue-steel dragon lifted its head once more. Then it moved its feet on the ground up and down, pushing away dirt. _Is it… digging for something?_ Sonic thought. At that moment, something crossed the hedgehog's mind. _No… it couldn't have…_ When it was done, the dragon lowered its head to the soft soil and plucked something out of the ground. Sonic inwardly panicked. _Oh you have got to be kidding me…_

In its jaws was a dark blue chaos emerald.

It seemed satisfied with what it had found. The gestures of its eyes and the slight wag of the tail showed that already. Sonic was not too thrilled about this discovery. How was he supposed to get the emerald away from... _that!?_ Of course, the dragon took no notice of the worried hedgehog, as it seemed to focus. The markings on its body began to glow a soft blue. With its mission accomplished, the dragon began to…wait wait! It was flying! It lifted itself off the ground and flew away!

Sonic couldn't stand it anymore. As soon as he thought that _thing_ was out of sight, he made an immediate run for Tails' Workshop, all the while screaming in terror. "IT CAN FLY!?" Sonic screamed. "IT CAN FLY! AAhhhhhhh!"

In the distant sky above, if one listened carefully enough, one could hear the sounds of a blue-steel dragon _laughing_. Hysterical laughter. He couldn't believe how scared the hedgehog had been around him. Oh he knew Sonic was there the whole time. Being the Ruler of Time had its perks.

"Wait till Kia hears about this! Hahahahaha!" The dragon disappeared into another dimension.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight."

"Ok."

"You were running in Windy Valley looking for a chaos emerald."

"Uh-huh."

"Then there was some sort of earthquake."

"Yes."

"And then you saw a blue dragon with steel on it."

"Right."

"And somehow it turned you into your younger self and back into yourself again."

"Correct."

"And it took the blue chaos emerald and flew away."

"Well… uhhhh…."

"Sonic, why didn't you do anything!" "Tails, that thing was downright _terrifying!"_ Sonic complained. "If you had seen it, you would've been scared too! Heck, even if Shadow wasn't…" Sonic caught himself. Tails knew what he was going to say. Even if Shadow wasn't _dead,_ he would've been scared of it too. No one wanted to mention the event that happened a week or so ago.

"Well, what if it was one of Eggman's robots?" Tails questioned. "That _thing_ was living and breathing, I tell ya! I could feel that thing's breath when I was hiding in that bush! And then...oooohhhhh then. One second I'm myself, the next I'm five years younger! How do you explain that?!"

"Sounds like big blue is afraid of something other than water," a voice chimed in. Rouge and Knuckles came walking in, as well as Amy, Silver, and Blaze. "We couldn't find any emeralds," Silver admitted. "And it looks like Sonic found the only one we could've gotten." "Hey! I tell ya, that dragon looked vicious!" Then, a thought crossed Sonic's mind.

"Hey Silver," he said. "Do you know anything a blue colored dragon that is able to make time distortions?" Silver shook his head. "Not that I know of, but maybe history might have some details. Knuckles?" The white hedgehog turned his head to the echidna.

"I can see if I can find anything on Angel Island," he answered. "My ancestors may have written down something about this, dragon. After all, it's not every day you see this kind of stuff. Tikal may know something about this as well. Chaos may know something."

And so, the rest of the day was spent with the seven of them planning on where to go for research. Silver and Blaze would go to some libraries and historical centers. Rouge would look at some government files through G.U.N. since she was an agent. Sonic and Tails would _both_ go to Windy Valley and Mystic Ruin once again, Tails going with him because Sonic became too fearful that the blue-steel dragon would show up again. Amy would hold down the fort and contact anyone else she knew that could help out.

 _What happens if I run into that dragon again?_ Sonic thought. _Something is not right here. The seven of us are searching for the chaos emeralds and…_ At that moment, Sonic began to realize. _Seven shall rise and seven shall fall...The seven of us have begun our search for the chaos emeralds as they lose their power! Others will try...Amy's calling other friends to help out! But one will stand tall...could it mean that…?_

The sun was once again beginning to set. The day was coming to a close. He looked at the orange and red beams of light as they danced across the landscape. _Shadow was chosen… What does Shadow have to do with this? But he's dead...Maybe I have to take the place of him._ The sun had set, and night had fallen.

"Hey Sonic?" Tails' voice chimed in. Sonic was sitting on the roof, staring at the stars. He clearly was in deep thought about something. "You going to come in for the night?" The hedgehog said nothing. Tails walked up next to Sonic. "You're thinking about him, aren't you?" the fox asked.

"Sorta kinda," Sonic admitted. "I just...feel bad I guess. I couldn't save him from the blast. Instead, he decided to save me. Why would he save me? I could've taken the hit just fine!" A hint of sadness filled his eyes. "I couldn't save someone Tails! I feel bad about this! For once in my life I couldn't save someone! And it was one of my friends!"

"Sonic, don't feel bad," Tails assured him. "He _chose_ to sacrifice himself. _He chose_ to save us. All of us. If he didn't die and you did, then we wouldn't have been able to destroy Eggman's weapon. Who knows what could've happened. Sonic, I hate to say it, but we need _you_ more than we need Shadow. Imagine what could've happened if you had died."

The blue hedgehog began to consider these thoughts. He could see Tails, his best buddy, and Amy crying at the foot of his dead body. Rouge was crying as well, as Knuckles tried to comfort her. Then there was Shadow. The hedgehog's expression was blank, but his mind wasn't. Images of his best friend's death that occurred fifty years ago played over and over in his mind. Eggman was there, laughing in victory.

Then, his thoughts went back to Tails' words. " _He_ _ **chose**_ _to sacrifice himself. He_ _ **chose**_ _to save us."_ And, the voice's words came back as well. " _ **Shadow was chosen for a reason…"**_ Maybe Shadow wasn't as bad as everyone thought he was. He had a heart. Perhaps that was why he was chosen to die. Perhaps that was why he was chosen to save everyone.

"You're right buddy," Sonic answered him. "I'm not blaming myself anymore. I understand now." Tails' eyes brightened up at this. "Now come on, let's head inside, it's middle of fall and it's getting cold out here!" Before they did, a shooting star flew through the night sky. This reminded Tails of something.

"Hey Sonic," Tails said. "I just remembered that over a month from now, there's going to be meteor shower that hasn't occurred in 500 years!" "Really?" Sonic asked. "Yeah! It's called the Leonid Meteor Shower. Not only that, but there's going to be a new moon on that day, so we'll get one of the greatest views from our area! We should get the others to come and see it!"

"That's a good idea buddy!" Sonic encouraged him. Even though it was off topic, it at least got them off the sensitive subject of a certain black hedgehog. Then, they went inside, where Tails began to talk about the best viewing points when the meteors come. The atmosphere had changed to one of a more happier tone. For now at least.

* * *

Needless to say, that atmosphere wasn't universal. For the Hall of Origin at that moment, things were in a bit of chaos. For one thing, Arceus was extremely angry at a certain blue-steel dragon for leaving unexpectedly. As soon as his son returned home, he would certainly give him a Judgement to the face, as well as make him clean and do more of the jobs that Arceus had to do for someone else.

And the fact that Arceus' constant grumbling and yelling didn't exactly help that someone else…

Laying in his room was what appeared to be a white winged dragon, which was covered in purple-pinkish markings. It appeared to be bipedal. It had long arms, with plated armor covering them, and hands with five claws. His head bore two tusks, and his eyes were crimson red. On each of its shoulders were beautiful, orange, shining pearls. Only, the one on its right should appeared to be cracked.

He moved around in his bed, trying to get into a comfortable position to sleep in. He even tried to cover his head with his own pillow, trying block out the noise that Arceus was making. _Figures,_ he thought. _I should've put in some sound-proofing when I had the chance. But, leave it to Dia to think that I would blare my music and to think that I wouldn't hear anything if Cyrus ever invaded the Hall._

It didn't help that Palkia had excellent hearing. Being the Ruler of Space had its ups and downs. And even he knew that he would be the last one to know whether or not Cyrus had come, since Palkia pretty much knew what was going on in every single dimension at the time. Now, you may think that this can get pretty overwhelming for one space dragon at one time. To him, it was pretty normal. The only thing is that you have to deal with two, very annoying brothers who didn't know when to stop shouting and roaring or planning on dragging him down to the Distortion World. It also didn't help that Palkia was technically the oldest out of the three, making the other two want to be even more so annoying around him.

And then there was Arceus. When your dad is pretty much the god of everything, you can basically do whatever you want. And Palkia knew that he was blessed by his father with the best abilities and skills. Sure, stopping and traveling through time was cool and all, but who cares when you can basically go anywhere, create anything you want out of thin matter, shapeshift, and his favorite, messing around in dimensions and not have to worry about being there in the first place…

...especially in the Chinese Food Dimension, he loved that place.

Of course, when your dad is the god of everything, you can basically complain about everything and not get in trouble for it. Pretty much Arceus can yell and complain all he wants, and punish those he wanted to. At this point, Palkia had enough of this.

"Shut up Arceus!" Palkia roared. "I'm not gonna get any better if you continue to yell!" The grumbling and yelling ceased. He sighed in relief. _I didn't think he would ever shut up,_ Palkia thought. _Finally I can get some sleep._ At last, he had found a comfortable position on the bed. The spatial pokemon drifted off to sleep.

However, this was soon interrupted as a loud banging was heard from the door. "Kia! Open up!" Dialga had come home. And thus, the eternal cycle of no sleep started again. This time, Palkia chose to ignore it. Dialga only began to bang louder. "Palkia! Open the dang door and let me in!"

 _Why can't the universe leave me alone?_ He inwardly moaned in complaint. Once again, the spatial dragon tried to cover his head with his pillow in order to block out the noise. _Arceus, please just go and punish Dia already…_ Palkia already knew that Dialga was in trouble because of Arceus' own complaints. So, if he didn't let his brother in, his brother would have been found by Arceus eventually.

"Palkia, the Ruler of Space!" Dialga roared. "I swear if I find you watching Naruto in there…" _Wait what?_ He thought. _Since when did he find out about that?_ Then, the sound of explosions were heard outside his door. Looks like Arceus had found him. Through his door, Palkia could hear the angry, enraged tone of his father tearing up a storm in front of Dialga. Things were said, and punishments were given, as well as what Palkia heard to be a Judgement to the face. And that was when the door to his room exploded open, revealing a charred Dialga, who looked half dead, and Arceus standing tall over him.

"You could've at least knocked," Palkia quietly groaned. He sat up and saw the other two legendaries where his door used to be. He visibly flinched as his right shoulder pearl shot up in pain, causing the Ruler of Space to fall out of bed. Both his father and his brother gasped. "Palkia!" they both yelled, immediately rushing over to him to help the poor pokemon up. Unfortunately for Palkia, he was the only one out of his family that could actually use his arms, so it took them a bit to get him back on the bed.

"I'm fine," he reassured them. "It was just pain in my shoulder. But why, might I ask, did you blow down my door?!" "Your idiot brother decided that it would be fine to go to another dimension and grab a chaos emerald…" Arceus grumbled. His father had already heard the explanation given from Dialga. And by far, he was definitely not please.

"What the heck Dia!" Palkia shouted, and then flinched because of his shoulder. "You went to a fricken dimension without my permission, and not only that, _stole_ a chaos emerald? Do you know how much you messed up the universal stream?!" Dialga's job was to watch over time, and Palkia's job was to watch over space. So the spatial pokemon knew what and what not to do in certain dimensions. _This_ being one of them.

"Look Kia," Dialga stated. "I only went and got one because of you. Even though I hate you sometimes, but _we need you._ Arceus and I can't keep up with your jobs. And Gira…" He trailed off. They did not want to bring up where their brother was at the moment. All because of a incident involving Gira and Kia. About a few weeks ago, everything was fine in the universe. Arceus had never seen such peace between the three pokemon. Until one conversation came up.

Dialga and Arceus did not know how it started, nor does Palkia want to bring up why it started, but needless to say, a fight began between the spatial pokemon and the renegade pokemon. It got so heated and serious at that moment that both pokemon weren't holding back. By the time Dialga came in to calm them down, he had noticed something odd about Gira. He was covered in a black aura, and his crimson eyes were shining.

Both Kia and Dia had begun to fight together against Gira. They were at least hoping to knock out their brother, or at least drive the dark aura away. Then, after knocking Kia away, Gira came upon Dia and aimed for the diamond on his chest. With great effort and speed, Kia protected him by getting in between the two legendary pokemon. It was, however, at the cost of right shoulder pearl. And it immediately wasn't good.

Space had begun to break apart the moment Kia was hit. Arceus had noticed this. And just as Gira was about to break Kia's second shoulder pearl, his father busted in. Gira was sent to the Distortion World faster than you could say Sinnoh Remakes. Once the situation calmed down, both Dia and Arceus looked over Pal. He was unconscious, and his right shoulder injury was serious, hence the spatial distortions outside the Hall of Origin.

And thus, Palkia spent the last few weeks resting in bed, as Arceus and Dialga took over his jobs. His healing however, took longer because of the fact that Dialga had to use the Lustrous Orb in order to accomplish what only Palkia could do. Hence, those few weeks were filled with pain, aches, groans, as well as a very impatient Palkia, since he basically couldn't do anything.

 _Well, at least I feel needed,_ he thought. "That is besides the point, Dialga," Arceus explained. "However, I have already gave you your punishments. Now, today there is going to be a meeting of legendaries. Dialga, I expect you to show up, since you've been so happily been visiting other dimensions _without_ our permission."

He turned to Palkia, and, whispering to him, said this. "You do not have to come, my son. I, as well as the other legendaries, will not disturb you during our meeting." Then, he added. "I will also get you some Chinese food from the Chinese Food Dimension in a while. Get better, Palkia…"

Arceus then left the room, leaving behind a questioning Dialga and a very joyful Palkia. The Ruler of Time shook off his questioning looks. He turned to Palkia. "Here's the chaos emerald I got for you," Dia said, pulling out the dark blue chaos emerald, and gently placed it on Kia's lap. Then, to the Ruler of Space's surprise, Dia pulled out his phone.

"Since when do you actually use that?" Kia asked. "I thought you hated that thing ever since I gave it to you. And also that you hated using technology because we, as you say, 'have no use for it.' And that I embraced too much of it." "It has its uses," Dia admitted. "Like with this for instance." Pushing on the screen a few times, Dia then held his phone in front of the injured space dragon. After a few moments, he began to laugh.

"Wait wait wait! You're telling me that he was..! He was shaking in the bushes! He turned into his younger self! OH MY ARCEUS THAT AWFUL SCREAM! HAHAHAHAHA!" Oh this definitely made Kia's day better. After that, Dia explained some of the things that occurred when he was traveling through dimensions. A long list of instructions was given to Dia from Kia. Then, the blue-steel dragon began to leave.

"The chaos emerald should heal you faster," Dia reassured him. "You should be fine in a few days. Hopefully. Their power has been going out. Much like everything else. Now, are you sure you don't want anything?" Kia shook his head. "Alright fine," Dia said. "The meeting's about to start soon. So I must leave."

"Give me an update after it's done would ya?" Kia asked. Dia sighed. "I will, now get better so I can quit doing your stupid jobs." "Hey! The only reason I protected you was so you couldn't go primal again. Remember when _that incident_ happened? Arceus banishes you to the Distortion World for weeks!"

"And it's not going to happen again," Dia stated. "Now just because you took the hit for me, doesn't mean that you can't go primal as well." "Well, it's not going to happen! It's not like Gamefreak is going to come out with a new design for me every year!" "Who's Gamefreak?"

"Uhhh nothing!" Kia admitted. "Shouldn't you be going to the meeting? And I need sleep!" The spatial pokemon immediately faked his sleeping pattern. Dia sighed. He turned around and left the room, but not before reversing time on Kia's door, putting it back in its place. _Arceus I can never get a break around here,_ Palkia thought. With that, Palkia laid his head down on the pillow, covered himself with blankets, and began to sleep.

* * *

About an hour later, while the spatial dragon was asleep, a few of the other legendaries began to enter the Hall of Origin. One of these being Rayquaza, the legendary Sky High pokemon, as well as Entei, Mewtwo, Genesect, and Cobalion. Arceus and Dialga were waiting for them. However, one more was meant to show up, though time was not meant to be wasted, and so the meeting began.

"I have called you all here for specific purposes," Arceus began. "Each of you in the past have had some sort of experience with this darkness, and have been strong enough to fight it. And you all come from different continents. Dialga from the Grass Continent, Genesect from the Sand Continent, Cobalion from the Water Continent. Mewtwo from the Mist Continent, Entei from the Sea of Wonders, and Rayquaza of the Gem Continent. Now, let us get…"

"Sorry to interrupt you Arceus," Genesect replied. "But uh, shouldn't there be someone from the Air Continent here as well?" Arceus realized this, and looked around at the legendaries. However, one was missing. "Has anyone seen Lugia?" The alpha pokemon asked them. Everyone shook their heads, except for Dialga. "Palkia may know, but I don't think it would be best to wake him."

"Speaking of which," Cobalion said. "How is his condition fairing?" They were all concerned about the Ruler of Space. Every legendary had learned of the incident that involved him and Giratina. And then they realized, that by this point, the situation was getting out of control. "He is feeling better than before," Dialga admitted to them. "We gave him...an energy source that should be able to heal him." He did a short pause when saying this, not wishing to reveal what he was using instead of the Lustrous Orb.

"We can continue without Lugia for now," Arceus stated. "For now, let us get down to business. I want each of you to state if anything has currently happened in your respective continents. Dialga of course, has already informed me of what is going on in the Grass Continent. Temporal Tower is in order, as well as the Sea of Time. Now, let's start Cobalion. How are things in the Water Continent?"

"Everything seems to be in order Arceus," Cobalion replied. "Terrakion, Virizion, and I have made rounds on the continent. Lively Town and Serene Village live in peace. However, I have seen a decline in exploration teams. Other than that, there is nothing serious."

"The Sand Continent is living in peace as well!" Genesect said joyfully. "Sahra Town is also in peace. Other than a few unusual sandstorms we've been having lately, all of the pokemon live in happiness. Of course, this is the time of year for sandstorms anyway. So other than that, everything's alright." Arceus then turned to Entei, having a feeling that the Volcano pokemon had something to say.

"The Sea of Wonders is in good shape," he said firmly. "However when I went to speak to the other legendaries of the region, it was noted that Suicune reportedly went missing. No one has seen him in a while. We've lost contact with him. Raikou and I have searched all over the islands, however even we cannot walk on water as Suicune can." Arceus was a bit troubled by this. Suicune was the last legendary out of the three to go off running somewhere, and everyone knew it. For him to go missing meant that something was up.

"I have also lost contact with a few legendaries, mainly Solgaleo and Lunala," Arceus replied. "And to add to this, I wish to address the issue as to which I brought you all here for. About a week ago or so, I finally had brought Shadow here." There was silence as well as a hint of seriousness that entered the room. Arceus continued. "However, I would've brought him here, but then a distorting the the spatial stream occurred, thus leaving myself and Dialga with no information on his whereabouts. And with Palkia out of commission for about another week or two, the search hasn't been the slightest bit easy."

"Do you believe that he became a pokemon and lost his memory?" Mewtwo inquired. Out of all the legendary pokemon, Mewtwo was definitely the smartest of them all. Arceus hates to admit it, but Mewtwo was surprisingly stronger than himself. Well, he was created that way after all. The psychic cat was created by humans in another world. Not many know of Mewtwo's "birth" per day, the only one being Arceus, and Mew of course, and the genetic pokemon preferred it stay that way. While he was able to gain a new life in another dimension, he was not willing to talk about his old one.

"It is...plausible," Arceus admitted. "The loss of memory is highly likely. The pokemon part however...I know of his genetic makeup, and with the system and DNA he has, that option is very likely as well. Which means, that it'll become even more difficult to find him. However, before he left me, I had given him the Test of Aura, distinguishing that his was red. And so, I gave him a red bow, and hopefully, he should have it." He paused for a moment, and then turned to Genesect and Cobalion.

"I want you two to go back to your continents and notify the other legendaries in your area to search for Shadow. Notify them of when he looks like, what he sounds and talks like, and note them that he is fast and very powerful, so he may not want to come with us so quickly. However, if Shadow is in a state where he is a pokemon, tell them that you should look for a pokemon with a red bow." Arceus stated. Both Cobalion and Genesect nodded in response. With that, both pokemon exited the Hall of Origin swiftly.

Arceus turned to Rayquaza with a grim look on his face. "When was the last time you visited the Gem Continent?" he asked. The green snake shook his head. "Not for a while," he replied. "Not since the last Litleonid Festival, I'm afraid. Ever since you put out that warning, that has been the only time since I've gone there." Arceus nodded in understanding.

"You must be aware that there is a slight possibility that you may not be allowed to go there this year," Arceus warned. "If the darkness' influence spreads more to the point where it is throughout the continent, I do not want you going. It is not that I don't trust you or your power against the darkness, but, it is the fact that we need all the legendary pokemon we can get. And with the disappearance of Suicune, Solgaleo, and Lunala, as well as what happened to Groudon and Kyogre, and lastly, the fact that Lugia did not show up, I don't want to risk anyone else. And yes, I do understand you watch over that village of yours, but you must understand that sometimes, not everyone can be saved."

Rayquaza nodded to this. He hated the fact that he might not be able to see the village pokemon this year, but he knew that Arceus was watching out of him, as well as the other legendaries. What nobody noticed however, was the fact that Mewtwo's facial expression hardened at this statement.

"I understand Arceus," Rayquaza replied. "Good," Arceus said. "Now, I want you to go to the Air Continent,since Lugia did not show up, and also notify the legendaries in that area as well." Rayquaza left the Hall of Origin as well, and began to fly towards the Air Continent. "You may go as well Entei. And do not worry. We will find Suicune." Entei began to leave when Mewtwo stopped him. "Warn those on the Mist Continent as well," he said to him. "I may end up staying here for a while." Entei did not reply, for everyone knew not to question Mewtwo. With that, he left for the Sea of Wonders. Now, only Arceus, Dialga and Mewtwo were left.

"Dialga, you may go and tell Palkia the details," Arceus said to him. "But do not rouse him up so much. He needs to heal. And by the way, I will be borrowing the Lustrous Orb for a little bit." Dialga left, heading towards Palkia's room. At last, only Mewtwo and Arceus were left.

"'Not everyone can be saved,' hmm?" Mewtwo questioned him. "I did not think you would say such words." "You and I know why I would never say those words," Arceus replied, his face grim. "And why did you say to Entei that you would be staying here longer?" he said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Mewtwo only smirked at this.

"You never call me for such trivial matters, Arceus," he replied. "And the notion of everyone leaving just the two of us proved that. Now, why am I really here? It is that serious, isn't it?" Arceus slowly nodded his head to this. The grim look on his face signified that this was meant for Mewtwo, and Mewtwo alone.

"This is something that you and you alone would understand," Arceus stated. "Mew might've understand, but we both know how she is." The psychic cat shuddered at the statement. It is not that he hated Mew, after all, without her, he wouldn't exist. Mew is technically his "biological parent," well for the most part. But sometimes, Mew could be so… _Mew._ At the same time Mewtwo loved her, as in parental/child love, but sometimes he just downright hated her for her annoyance.

"We both know of the events fifty years ago," Arceus began. "As well as your... _connection_...to him. And, out of every pokemon in this world, you are the strongest one to fight against the darkness. Shadow too, can fight against it as well. But, if it is true that he had lost his memories and his form, then I can think of no other pokemon to do it than you."

Mewtwo was silent. His eyes were grim. His face was serious. "That might not be the best idea Arceus," the psychic cat replied. "After all, if I had lost my memory, wouldn't you want me to have a better life?" Arceus knew what he was talking about. Shadow had gone through so much suffering, that at that point, it was best for him to have a new life, and not the one he once lived.

"It is up to you," the Alpha pokemon answered. "If you wish for him to have a better life, then that is alright. However, if you wish for him to know the truth, then it must be you to reveal it to him. I cannot help you with that. Either way, you must help put him on the path that is right." Mewtwo nodded.

"One more thing," Arceus began. "Since I have said to Rayquaza to possibly not go to the Gem Continent, I am sending you to go in his place when the festival occurs." "And why me?" Mewtwo questioned. "Your body is able to withstand the darkness' control and temptation. And although you fell into the temptation once, you were only inexperienced at the time, and thus, had no information on what it could do. Now however, you are able to withstand it completely. That is why I am sending you. Now, I have living quarters set up in the Hall. You may stay there as long as you like." He gestured down a long, white hallway.

"I wish to help both you, as well as Dialga and Palkia. And…" He trailed off, turning towards the direction in which Arceus had shown him. "I feel as though I owe a debt to Palkia." He then teleported away, leaving Arceus alone. Mewtwo then once again reappeared in the empty room that would be his living space for the time being.

 _I can make use of this place,_ he thought to himself. He then pulled out a picture. In it was what seemed to be a younger version of himself, standing next to a young girl. _She may be gone,_ he thought. _But, that was the past. I must focus on what is present, and the future..._

* * *

Dialga sighed in relief. He was definitely thankful that he was excused early from the meeting. For one thing, he had to go tell Palkia and inform him of what was going on at the moment. And another thing, he had to go tell the other legendaries of the Grass Continent of what had happened. _Great,_ he thought. _Even more work for me to do today…_

He gently knocked on the door to Palkia's room. There was silence. Then, he opened the door. The room was dark. The sound of steady breathing could be heard as a silhouette of a figure could be seen slumped on his side on the bed. Palkia was asleep, with the dark blue chaos emerald softly glowing in his lap.

 _Maybe I should tell him later…_ Dialga thought. _Even through he told me that I should tell him about it, I don't feel like waking him up now. He needs rest._ Dialga began to walk out of the room. However, the steady breathing pattern coming from Palkia began to change. He began to mumble in his sleep.

"Gira...no…." he slurred. Dialga turned around. _What is he…?_ He thought. "I...chose him for a reason…" _Why would he be talking about Gira?_ Dialga thought. "Gira...what's happening...to you? No...stop...please! AHHHHHHHHHH!" Palkia began to roar in his sleep. Dialga fearfully ran over to him, desperately trying to wake him up.

"Kia!" he yelled. "Wake up! It's only a nightmare! Wake up you idiot!" Palkia was shaking and squirming in bed. Sweat began to drip down his face. He was roaring in terror. Dialga didn't want to admit it, but even he was _scared._ He had never seen his brother act like this before. Fear and anger began to take over him, as some sort of mysterious power entered his body.

"WAKE UP PALKIA!" Dialga, out of desperation, unleashed a Roar of Time. However, he deeply regretted it afterword, as Palkia was already injured, and even more conveniently, his right shoulder pearl was in the line of fire. Said spatial pokemon opened his eyes as he heard the roar of Dialga, and immediately panicked.

"What the...AHHHHHHHHH!" he roared in agony and pain, as the Roar of Time hit his damaged right shoulder pearl. An explosion went off. Palkia shrieked in terror. Then, the smoke cleared as a very anxious Dialga stood over the fallen form of his brother. "Palkia? Palkia! Speak to me! Please!" he cried out.

The spatial pokemon moaned. He slowly opened his eyes. Palkia tried to move his arm to his head, but he winced in pain. Dialga looked down at his brother's shoulder, and his eyes widened at the sight he saw. The temporal pokemon gasped. The crack in Palkia's shoulder had gotten larger. It was flickering on and off. Palkia gave off short gasps as eyes were closed in pain.

Suddenly, time and space became distorted, and Mewtwo teleported into the room. He stared at the scene before him. His eyes were filled with horror, as a memory of a similar event entered his mind. However, he shook the thought away, as the psychic cat needed to get to work. Mewtwo walked over to both pokemon, noticing the scared and terrified look in Dialga's eyes, and the pained expression of Palkia's face.

"Dialga," Mewtwo spoke. "Go tell Arceus what happened. I know what you did was an accident, however, we must fix this." "But I…" "I know you want to help him, but I will be able to help him now," Mewtwo reassured him. Dialga nodded, and fled the room. Mewtwo sighed. He then noticed the dark blue chaos emerald on the bed. _I will be able to use that to my advantage,_ he thought. His eyes lit up blue, as the chaos emerald levitated into the air and into his right palm.

He could feel the power of the emerald course through his veins. After all, it felt so natural to him. Putting his left hand onto Palkia's injured shoulder pearl, he began to transfer power into it. He looked up, and silently, Mewtwo began to recite a legend he had heard long ago.

 _A time where Antimatter and Time turn against Space, where Land and Sea become far from grace. The Alpha will fall from heaven's embrace, and the created must rise in his place. Seven shall rise, as heroes from another world will be caught in the fight. Seven shall fall, as power will be lost to the light. Others will try, but even legends shall fail the fight. But one will stand tall, as three unite…_ Mewtwo stopped reciting the legend.

He had stopped the transfer of energy to Palkia. Mewtwo did not want to overexert himself, nor did he want to send too much power into Palkia, lest he would hurt him more. Palkia began to open his eyes, as he felt the pain disappear. "Mmm...Mewt...Mewtwo?" the spatial dragon softly asked.

"I am here Palkia," he said, reassuring him. "You will be fine. I will not let you go out on me, as you have done for me…" With his psychic powers, he gently lifted Palkia onto the bed. After a few minutes, he asked him if he needed anything or if he felt any new pains. Palkia had said no, and thus Mewtwo departed from him by teleporting out.

Entering once again into his empty living space, the psychic cat, in the most elegant of ways, threw himself onto the bed. He sighed. _Ohhhhh….. This is going to be a long couple of days…_

On the small table next to his bed was what appeared to be a stone tablet. From the looks of it, it appeared to be thousands of years old. There was an inscription on it, however it was barely readable. Barely anyone could understand what language it was in. However, next to it was a piece of paper with some handwriting on it.

" _I have discovered this ancient tablet hidden away in the deepest parts of Mystic Ruin. From the data the other scientists and I have gathered, it appears that the age of it dates back to even before the time the mural of Chaos was created. I believe I might be able to translate the entire thing, though some parts of it don't seem as legible as they used to be. I have however, translated some of it. It appears to relate to some sort of prophecy, well it may or may not be a prophecy."_

" _But, from what I looked at in Echidna legends, there doesn't seem to be anything relating to space or time, or even to antimatter of all things! How echidnas know about antimatter surprises me! Perhaps Mobians are smarter than they look. And furthermore, there doesn't appear to be anything about land and sea either. No myths. No deities. Nothing!"_

" _For now, I must leave this behind. I have more important studies to look after. After all, it is not every day that something like the event that will happen today occurs! I must go now, for one of my assistants is calling me to come down. Today will certainly be a day to remember! Sayonara for now." -G. R._

 _February 6_

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **And thus ends one of the most interesting chapters I have written so far. And in a relatively short amount of time than when I usually update! Dang, I'm on a roll! Alright, time for some facts.**

 **Ok, I have to admit, half of this chapter was kinda a joke. Have to add in some comedy ya know? And guess who finally shows up? Me! Ok it's not me lol But Palkia does finally make his appearance in the chapter, and I must admit, he's more so the joke/comedy pokemon. And someone who likes to break the fourth wall, and likes Chinese food. Dialga as well as some other legendaries show up too. And so does Arceus! For one thing, I based off their continents of origin from SMD itself. All except for Rayquaza, cause well ya know, the Gem Continent doesn't exist in SMD.**

 **Ok, there is something that I must bring up. WHY. DOES. MEWTWO. EXIST. IN. MYSTERY. DUNGEON? Hate to say it, but this guy shouldn't exist in a dimension where there are no humans when his backstory is human-based. Well, then again they probably just added him in being like, "Hey, should we add in Mewtwo even through it wouldn't make sense, but just because he's popular?" Yes!" Ugh. Even though I love Mystery Dungeon, some things don't make sense. At least Genesect has an excuse. All weird conspiracy theories aside, he's here! He's gonna play an important role! Oh, it's just like Smash Bros where everyone is here! (except Shadow because he's an Arceus dang assist trophy!)**

 **Last thing I want to bring up. Remember the** _ **prophecy?**_ **Well, it looks like there's more to it now! And thus begins the conspiracy theories on what is going to happen. Hopefully I didn't reveal too much in this. But, there are more surprises to come!**

 **Finally, thank you to all those who have reviewed, favorited, followed, or just come by and read this story. It means a lot to me! It shows me you guys enjoy this story! Thank you!**

 **Now why did Lugia not show up? Could he have…? Nah, I don't think so...Or would he…?**

 **Anyways, until next time, See Ya Universe!**

 **Palkia**


	12. Ch11 The Light of Mystery

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! Palkia returns with Chapter 11! Ahhh! I've already hit the 200 page in the last chapter and I'm still going. But before we get into it…**

 **Infinite's Ruby: It's alright dude. Sometimes we're busy. I'm happy you like the relationship going on between Fennekin and Shadow. I was thinking like, "Hmm, I have to have them start a team eventually, so why not now?" And I try to have it be unique with the team name, considering it's something that is going to stick around. I don't want this story to go on for like forever and ever, I'm sort of aiming for something in the 30-50 range of chapters and not like 100, because I don't want it to drag on and on.**

 **As for the last chapter, I have to admit that the confrontation between Sonic and Dialga was meant to be serious, and in a way, a metaphor, as even Sonic cannot outrun time, (well in a sense, Timer Eater yes, time as in age and Ruler of Time, then no) Eventually a meeting of legendaries was going to occur, as I hate to admit it, but sometimes pokemon doesn't know exactly what to do with legends and just shoved them into the plot. SMD as well as GTI are good examples of this, but Explorers does a decent job at this. I'm trying not to shoehorn every legendary into the plot, as SMD tried to do (and failed miserably, as well as didn't put in Palkia's Onslaught) But I'm trying to give some of the more recent legends a shot, as well as throw in a few old ones. But thank you for keeping up with the story and I'm glad you enjoy it!**

 **And now, let us begin the chapter with our favorite Riolu! Let's-a Go!**

 **I do not own Pokemon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 11**

 **The Light of Mystery**

Three days. Three _whole_ days. The Riolu was lying in his room and staring up at the wood ceiling. His ruby red eyes gazed from one side to the other, trying to pass the time by counting the cracks on the wooden beams. He was covered in warm, soft blankets as he lay in his bed. The orange rays of sunlight came through his window, as the sun began to set.

For the first time, in what seemed to be ever since he had lost his memory and became a pokemon, and what felt to be a long time, Shadow was _bored._

Ever since he had taken his punishment a few days ago by Tyrantrum, he was forced to stay in his room for a few days. This, of course, came with exceptions, as he was able to come out for dinner as well as during other accommodations if need be. However, other than that, nothing else was meant to be near the Riolu. No one was allowed to speak to him or be near him. Tyrantrum himself didn't even speak a word to him, for he was very disappointed in his actions. Even worse, the village elder would send Shadow back to his room during dinner time with his food, as he would not eat with him.

It became, well in a sense, lonely for Shadow. Of course, he wanted to tell Fennekin about starting an exploration team. However, there were two things that were stopping him from doing so: him being grounded, and the fact that no one in the village would allow it. Even some of Eevee's siblings agreed that it was too dangerous.

Though, one thing still stuck around in his mind. _Why?_ He wondered. _Why? Why were we punished? Sure, we left the village without permission, but isn't saving a life a good thing?_ Shadow had heard multiple times that there used to be an exploration team in the village. Team Emerald, they were called, after the Emerald Village itself. However, they never returned one day after a mission at Ruby Mountain.

 _What is the deal with that mountain anyway?_ The Riolu thought. _It is obvious that the village holds it in high regard. After all, Tyrantrum got mad over Vaporeon getting sick from the ashes. And he said something about Groudon...Who is Groudon?_ So many questions were running through his head. Well, it was at least something to get his mind off of being in this room. _At least Fennekin wasn't stuck in a room for three days,_ he thought.

The door slowly began to open. Shadow didn't even look up, for he knew who it was. Tyrantrum entered the room. He stood tall, with a stern look on his face. The Riolu didn't pay attention to him. He turned his body to the window. Shadow could feel the rays of sunshine on his fur. It, in a way, comforted him.

"Shadow?" Tyrantrum asked. There was no harsh tone in his voice, only the one of curiosity. "Are you awake?" The Riolu only sighed. In his paws was the Sparkling Stone that he had gotten from the Poochyena brothers. The village elder didn't know he had it. So he tried to hide it from him.

"Your punishment is over," Tyrantrum spoke. Shadow said nothing. "However, I do not want you doing anything like that again." He still didn't respond. The Riolu still faced the window. The village elder sighed.

"You must understand, that it is for your own good, as well as the village, that things like this do not occur," he continued. "I cannot let anyone who lives in the village be harmed or hurt. And since you just arrived here, that as well, includes you. While both you and Fennekin showed bravery and courage rescuing Poochyena, it is your fault that you put her life, as well as Poochyena's life in danger. You do not understand the full definition of responsibility yet. Shadow, you are not old enough yet…"

At this, the Riolu turned sharply towards the village elder, his ruby eyes casting a menacing glare at Tyrantrum. He scoffed at him. "So you think it's okay for other pokemon to be left out there, waiting to be rescued? You're not going to send someone out there to help them? There are pokemon out there who are in trouble, as well as in danger because of some pokemon! And you just want to sit there and do nothing? All just to keep the villagers safe?!"

"It is for their own safety, Shadow!" Tyrantrum's temper began to rise, little by little. He understood that the Riolu could be stubborn, the information he was given from their fight proved that. But even he didn't think that Shadow would act like this. Why was acting this way? "Some of them don't even know how to battle!"

"But some do," he replied. Shadow slowly stood up from his bed. He gazed into Tyrantrum's eyes with seriousness in them. "Sylveon and Eevee fought alongside me when we were fighting Weavile. Fennekin, out of all the pokemon who wouldn't fight in this village, was able to show courage when she and I rescued Poochyena. The village had an exploration team before, then why not now?"

"Because things have changed, Shadow," Tyrantrum replied. "Things… weren't the way they were back then." He hated talking about this. He really did. But Tyrantrum had to show him why he wasn't going to allow this. For Shadow, he could sense some distress in Tyrantrum.

"Then tell me why!" The Riolu pleaded. "Why is it bad that we are helping pokemon? Why is it bad that we are doing something good? Please tell me! Tell me what I need to know! Because I hate not knowing about…" he trailed off. Shadow didn't want to say the rest. _Because I hate not knowing about the past._

The village elder sighed. "I'm...sorry Shadow," Was that a hint of pity? "But you must understand things will have to be this way. Even with what happened in the past. Your actions cannot continue. And if you continue to argue with me about why this is so, then I'll further extend your punishment. Understand?" It had come to this. Tyrantrum didn't want to do it, but he had to threaten the Riolu for a longer punishment, otherwise he wouldn't stop until he got his answer.

The Riolu, in response, turned his head towards the window. "Yes, Tyrantrum," he murmured quietly, barely above a whisper. But the village elder heard it nonetheless. And thus, he began to take his leave. Pulling the door open, Tyrantrum began to exit the room.

"You may leave your room in the morning. After that, you may do as you wish. However, I do not want another incident like that occurring ever again." He paused for a moment. Silence hung over the room as he stood by the door for a solid minute. Then, he spoke. "Goodnight, Shadow," he said quietly. At last, Tyrantrum exited the room, closing the door behind him.

Once he was sure that Tyrantrum was gone, the Riolu let the upper half of his body go and flopped back onto the bed. He sighed, as his eyes looked up at the ceiling once again. Sadness filled his ruby red eyes as he began to think about what Tyrantrum had said to him only a few moments ago.

 _What is my purpose?_ Shadow thought. _Why did I come here? I thought my purpose was to help pokemon. And yet…_ The Riolu's eyes looked back at the door where the village elder just recently left through. _How can I give them a chance if I'm not allowed to? Unless…_

It was a thought that could work, but also something that he didn't want to end up doing. Going behind Tyrantrum's back _again_ would more than likely get him killed. Not to mention Fennekin as well. But...maybe if they could keep it a secret for long enough, then it might be worth pulling off. After all, they would be helping pokemon.

At last, he decided to sleep on it, figuring that he would have to talk about it with Fennekin in the morning. After all, she is the one who has the most enthusiasm for this. The Riolu sighed as he looked out the window of his room. The sun had set, and the light from the moon came in. It touched his fur, giving him a comforting feeling.

 _I don't understand this,_ Shadow thought to himself. _Why do I feel this way whenever the sun or moon comes out? They give off a familiar feeling. And yet… I don't recognize where it is from._ He leaned his head against his pillow, slowly beginning to close his eyes. _I hope I don't have any dreams tonight…_ Finally, the Riolu fell asleep.

The next morning went by smoothly. For the most part at least. He ate breakfast with Tyrantrum, and proceeded out of the house to find a certain fire type pokemon. He eventually found her, as she was near the Emerald Shrine. Fennekin was staring oddly at it. The Riolu began to think about why she was doing this.

 _Does she think that the collapse of the shrine was her fault?_ He wondered. _It was an accident, even if I wasn't there. Sure, the shrine's destroyed, but it can always be fixed, right?_ He didn't exactly know if it could be fixed. But, if it was built, then surely another one could be put in its place. Although, Tyrantrum did say something about Rayquaza being mad about the shrine. _Well, if he is a legendary like Tyrantrum says,_ Shadow thought. _Then maybe he wouldn't mind the replacement. After all, if it's as good as the original, then it should work, right?_

As soon as he thought that, his world suddenly began to spin. His became blurry as Shadow lost control of his body. _What's… happening… to me…?_ The Riolu's body swayed back and forth, as his eyelids began to droop. _Something's… not right… I can't… not again! Fennekin help me!_ His pleas were only mental, as he could not get the words out of his mouth. However, the Riolu was able to trigger a moan that was heard by the fox pokemon near him. She tried around, and was met with fright.

"Shadow!" She cried out to him. But it was useless. Having lost control, the golden Riolu's body leaned forward. She rushed over to his side as fast as she could and caught his falling body before he could hit the ground. Fennekin sighed in relief. But she knew that he wasn't out of danger yet. So, with the weight of his body on her back, Fennekin carried the poor, unconscious Riolu over to Altaria's home.

However, on the other side of the spectrum, things were completely different. Darkness surrounded the golden Riolu. He lay there unmoving, not willing to get up because of the massive headache he was having. Suddenly, it went away. Shadow opened his eyes slowly. The first thing he saw was a bit of light surrounding him. His fur was glowing. The rest however, was total darkness.

 _Where...where am I?_ He thought. _What happened to me?_ Shadow began to run through the most recent events he experienced. Then it hit him. _I was going to Fennekin to tell her about the exploration team. And then… I saw her staring at the shrine. Then I thought that there might be a way to fix it. The last thing was…_ his thoughts trailed off again. Suddenly, strange voices echoed throughout the dark plain of existence.

" _What a surprise,"_ a low, husky voice began. " _I could've sworn I saw you blown to bits just a short time ago…"_ That voice. It sounded familiar and so strange at the same time. Was it… his own? No, that couldn't be right. He imagined that his voice would be deep, but not like this. And, did that voice just say blown to bits? Had this voice tried to kill someone?

" _Well, I guess I'm a lot tougher than I look,"_ another voice chimed in. This one was higher pitched. It sounded carefree. Maybe that could've been his voice. " _In fact, it's thanks to you that I'm okay."_ What did this guy mean by that? And who was he? Shadow didn't recognize the voice. Though it seemed so familiar. Almost like he was getting annoyed by it from its happy, cheery tone.

" _I see,"_ the deeper voice realized. " _You caused chaos control with that phony emerald there," Phony… what?_ Shadow thought to himself. _What is this guy talking about? Something about a phony emerald. And chaos control? What is that? I've never heard of it before. Maybe it's some sort of pokemon move? No, that can't be right. I was never a pokemon to begin with. I didn't know anything about pokemon until I came here._

" _Yep. I gotta run!"_ The higher pitched voice yelled, and a rushing sound was heard. Another one was heard as well. The Riolu gasped. _Wait!_ His thoughts exclaimed. He began to run through the darkness as fast as he could. _Come back! I need to know more!_ His fur glowed brighter, and it pushed away some of the darkness. Shadow closed his eyes in order to protect himself. The light illuminated the area around him, and all at once, the darkness disappeared.

Once he was sure the light had gone down, Shadow opened his eyes once more. When he did, he gasped. The darkness had left that's for sure. In its place were metallic floors and metallic walls. Machinery was all around him, something he had never seen before. And yet, it felt so familiar to him. Shadow looked down and saw that he was moving forward. The Riolu was on some sort of conveyor belt.

" _I'm afraid I can't let you get away from me that easily, my friend. Now I demand to know who you are,"_ the deeper voice asked. The Riolu questioned this. _Is he talking about me? "Who me?"_ the higher pitched voice said. " _I'm just a guy with the need for speed! They call me Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog!"_ Shadow grasped his head in pain. A massive headache was forming in his head. _Sonic...I know that name! I know that name!_ His mind screamed. _I've heard it before! But I can't… Remember…_

" _Ah, yes. I well understand your love of speed Sonic,"_ the deeper voice answered. Shadow wasn't even paying attention. He just wanted the pain to end. _Make it stop! Make it stop!_ His thoughts were howling in pain. " _But now your high speed adventure must come to an end!"_ the deep voice finished. Everything after that became muffled and completely a mess. The light gave way, and it felt like the world was collapsing all around him.

He closed his eyes in fright. The light was disappearing all around him. The Riolu begged and begged that whatever gods were out there would let him be able to escape this never-ending nightmare. _Please…_ this thoughts pleaded, as he was slowly beginning to lose consciousness. _Let me get out of here…_ And with all of his hope lost, his body suddenly warped out of the darkness, and was gone from sight.

* * *

Feeling began to return to his body. He tried to move his paws, and he was successful. Shadow let out a moan of agony. The Riolu squinted his eyes shut even further, for the sun was shining down on him. He moved his left paw in front of his face, shielding his eyes from the sun's wrath. Carefully, he began to open his eyes.

Shadow flinched as the sun's rays entered his ruby red orbs. But he soon relaxed as they adjusted to the light. Slowly, he brought up the upper half of his body and sat up. The Riolu looked around in astonishment at what he saw. Huge pine trees towered above him, forming a canopy that let slivers of sunlight through. Around him were wooden walls. It appeared to be some sort of house, only there was no roof. He looked up and saw that there was a second floor to the house, and it had a dome-shaped roof.

 _Where am I?_ He thought. _How did I end up here? The last thing I remember was that I was in the village and then I passed out._ Shadow looked underneath him, seeing what appeared to be a makeshift bed made out of straw like the one back in Tyrantrum's home. His sight trailed along the wooden walls and floor. There was a bit of moss and leaves, but surprisingly, the place was in real good shape. _If I had passed out in the village, then how did I end up here?_

Shadow decided that it would be best to search the area and find out where he was at the moment. He gently got up, leaving the comforts of his makeshift bed. His paws hit the wooden floor, feeling a sign of stability and security. It really did feel like he was back in the safety of the village elder's comfy home. And yet, it felt entirely different, like someone had used this place often, and then it was suddenly left for abandonment.

As he walked through the silent abode, his mind began to wander once more. _That dream I had… that had to be a memory. But I… can't remember._ He realized that the dream that was shown to him was fading from his mind. He could not remember the events that had transpired in the dream. _Why can't I remember?_ Shadow thought. _I want to know who I really am. And yet it seems like when I do, it slips from me again. Did something happen to my head when I fell from the sky?_

He exited the room and entered what appeared to be a much larger room. He was amazed by this. Part of the structure still had a bit of the roof on it. The wooden floor continued throughout the enclosed area. The Riolu could not believe how intact this place was. But how did he end up here to begin with? That was something he needed to find out.

"Shadow! You're awake!" a voice called. He turned around. There was Fennekin, who was coming towards him. Then, she stopped in front of him, paws halting on the wooden floor. "I'm so glad you woke up!" Fennekin exclaimed. "You were in pretty tough shape. So I made you a bed and…"

"Fennekin," he started, interrupting her. "What happened? Where are we?" Shadow had to admit, his head was spinning from all the confusion. She realized this. "Oh! Right," she said. "About that...I have to be honest with you, I don't know." Her ears drooped in embarrassment, with a bit of a smile on her face. Shadow was confused by this. "What do you mean, 'You don't know?'" he asked.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly how we got here," she answered. "But I do know one thing." Fennekin began to walk away. The golden Riolu followed behind. "This place is actually an old Pelipper Post Office/Exploration Base," she explained. "Though I'm surprised that it doesn't look like a Pelipper. A pokemon called Pelipper would deliver requests to this post office. It was probably both a base and a post office. Then, exploration teams would come and take the requests, fill them out, and do them. Sometimes they would be for rescuing a pokemon, finding a rare item, or even stopping bad pokemon."

"You see, there used to be a lot of exploration teams on the Gem Continent," Fennekin continued. "Lots and lots of requests would come in. The entire continent was busy. At one time it was probably the busiest place on the planet. But then…" Her head lowered and her ears drooped in sadness. "Something happened, and everything just stopped."

He was puzzled by this. _Stopped?_ Shadow thought. _Why would everything just stop? If this place was busy, then why would no one come back here?_ "Do you know why this happened?" Shadow asked. Fennekin, answering his response, shook her head. "No one does," she answered. "One day, the Pelipper just stopped coming. None of the pokemon on the continent knew why. Not even Tyrantrum. And because of no requests, teams just disbanded. The last exploration team the continent knew of was Team Emerald, but…" She paused. Everyone in the village hated to bring up the time that Team Emerald disappeared.

Shadow, seeing her distress, decided to change the subject. "Okay, I understand that, but how did we get here? What happened in the village?" Fennekin lifted her head up again. "You don't remember?" she asked. Shadow shook his head. "No...I wish I did though." he answered her. Fennekin felt bad for the Riolu. She knew that he had amnesia, but now she was beginning to think that Shadow was having more problems with his memory.

"Do you remember what happened this morning?" she asked. "Like before you ran into me." Shadow did remember. "Yeah, I do," he said. "I woke up this morning, ate breakfast, and came to see you so I could tell you something. I saw you looking at the shrine, and then I thought of something, and then…" He shut his eyes in protest. A mild headache was coming on when he tried to recall anything else, so he stopped. He couldn't remember anything else. "I don't remember anything after that. It was probably when I passed out. What happened to you?"

"Well, when I saw you pass out, I ran over to you and stopped you from falling." Fennekin began. "So I decided to take you to Altaria's home, since maybe she would be able to help you. But then, something weird happened to you while you were unconscious." Fennekin was becoming more worried as she spoke. "Shadow, your fur started glowing. Like, really bright. You looked like you were in a panic. And then, there was a flash and…" She gestured to the entrance of the base. "Before we were in the village. Next thing I know, we're out here."

Shadow's eyes widened in fright. "Did we...teleport?" he said shakily. "I guess." she answered. "I mean, I've never teleported before. It's a move that I can't even use anyway. So I have no idea what it feels like. But, it probably was one. After all, how else would we end up out here?" He began to panic a little. "I know I didn't cause it," Fennekin continued. "The thing is, I don't know how you were able to use it, since you were unconscious, and not to mention Riolu can't learn the move either."

He didn't want to talk about this. Shadow most definitely didn't want to talk about _how_ this occurred. So, after a brief moment of silence between the two pokemon, he decided to go off topic. "Fennekin," Shadow began. "Did you ever wanted to be in an exploration team? You seem enthusiastic every time someone mentions one."

She blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah," she answered. "I always wanted to help pokemon. In any way I could that is. Of course many pokemon say that I'm too young to be in one." Shadow understood the feeling. He hated being called a child or being called too young. The Riolu was smarter than he looked and could do a lot if he put his mind to it. Silence hung over them for a moment. Then, Shadow began to speak.

"Well I…." Shadow trailed off. Fennekin looked towards him. He had to admit that he was a bit nervous when he was asking Fennekin this. Shadow knew that she would probably say yes. _But, what if she says no?_ He thought. That was a likely option. Even though she might want to join, Fennekin may not take the risk. "Is something wrong?" she asked. Shadow had to say something. It was now or never.

"I...was thinking...of starting...an exploration team…"

Her eyes widened at this. Out of all the pokemon in the village, _Shadow_ wanted to make an exploration team? She was more than happy. Fennekin was thrilled. But, she knew that there were a few risks involved. Tyrantrum would be extremely mad at her for sure. Her parents, well, they would probably ground her for life. However, this is what she always wanted. Fennekin really wanted to be on a team. She had felt this way when she and Shadow rescued Poochyena.

"I know it may sound crazy but…" he trailed off, trying to think of what he should say. "I feel as though there are a lot of pokemon out there in the world that need help." He looked up towards the sky. "I'm thinking that I came here for a purpose. And that purpose, I think that I'm here to help pokemon. And the only way I can is through an exploration team."

"It's dangerous, that I know. Just having a team exist could get us in serious trouble. Especially in the village. I had a talk with Tyrantrum the other day, and he didn't seem too happy about what we did. And I'm pretty sure your parents wouldn't be happy either. But...there might be a way to do it in secret. I've been thinking about this for the past couple of days, ever since we got punished. And now with this whole teleportation thing that I have, it may come true."

Fennekin stood there in silence. She had to think this over. This just sounded too good to be true. Her dream was coming to life right in front of her eyes. How could she not accept this? Risks were involved yes, but would that stop her? Fennekin didn't want them to stop her. She looked over at Shadow, who appeared to be waiting for her to speak. Though, he continued to speak.

"I have to say that there are some risks involved," he continued. "But, I don't think we have to worry about them, if I must be honest with you. I haven't said anything about this to any pokemon yet. I figured since you were, out of all the pokemon in the village, the most likely one to want to form an exploration team." Shadow paused for a moment, then spoke again. "I...know it's a lot to ask, but...would you like to join? You don't have to if you don't want to. I...would understand…"

Why was he getting upset over this. If she didn't want to join, then she didn't have to. He wasn't going to force her to do this. It wasn't right. In the back of his mind, it felt as if he had forced others in the past. Though he knew that it was wrong, and so he didn't persuade her. And yet...why was he sad at the possibility of her saying "no?" Was the Riolu lonely?

Silence hung over the two pokemon for a minute. Neither said anything to the other. Shadow looked towards the ground as he waited for her answer. On the other side of things, Fennekin was thinking this entire situation over and over again. So many possibilities came to her mind. What would happen if they were caught? Would they ever get caught? After what seemed like an eternity, she broke the silence.

"I want to join."

His eyes lit up in excitement and joy. "R...really?" He stuttered. This feeling, this emotion, it felt like something that he hadn't felt in years. What was it? Shadow couldn't recognize it. And then he realized. Happiness. Joy. Pure goodness. The Riolu had never felt this way. So then why now? Earlier he had felt sad and lonely and…Did it feel as if his loneliness was filled? Perhaps, this was something different.

"Yes, I really do!" She exclaimed in excitement, something that she too, hadn't felt in a while. Not since they rescued Poochyena. Fennekin too, felt as if her loneliness was filled as well. Then what had just occurred? She had felt that this moment was finally something that happened between them. So what was it?

"I...I...thank you!" Shadow shouted in gratitude. A few tears came from his eyes. No, these were not tears of sadness. They were tears of joy. It had felt as if, since the first time that he came here, that the Riolu's purpose of being here was pushed down. Forcefully taken aback by the village elder, as well as the rest of the village. They were not bad pokemon, but he knew he had come here for a reason, and wished to fulfill it to the best of his ability. And unfortunately, they kind of held him back a little. Not in a bad way, but he would never be able to leave the village and explore at his leisure.

Getting over the happy emotions running through his system, Shadow looked at the surrounding area. Suddenly an idea came to his head. "We'll need a base," he said. "And I think this place might be perfect for that. Though it may need some fixing up. Hehe." "That's a good idea," Fennekin answered. "And maybe, if we work on that teleport, we might be able to come here more often. Not only that, we wouldn't be noticed coming here if we just walked here from the village. Speaking of which, uh do you know how to get us home Shadow?"

"I uh," the Riolu began. "I don't exactly know how to activate it. And I don't know what the direction of the village is so…" Shadow became a little nervous. Yes, it was a good thing that they randomly teleported out to an old exploration team base. The bad news however, was the fact that they didn't exactly know where they were at the moment. They were lost in the middle of nowhere. "I could try again," Shadow reassured her. "Maybe if…"

He was cut off as rustling was heard. Both pokemon became startled. It wasn't the wind, for it was not blowing at all. Which only meant one thing. _Someone was watching them._ Shadow did not like the sound of that. They had no idea where they were and someone was watching them. No help for probably miles. But, he had to stay determined. After all, he wasn't alone. Fennekin was by his side.

"Who's there?" He asked. "Show yourself!" Instinctively, he used Bone Rush and held the blue aura bone sword in his left paw. Fennekin got closer to him, forming a defensive position. Both pokemon were ready for battle. Though it grew silent. There was no rustling. They did not let their guard down. The wind stopped blowing. The trees stopped swaying. Something was definitely up.

Then, something came out of the bush at high speeds towards them! Unfortunately they didn't notice it in time, and thus it slammed into the two pokemon. Both of them yelled in pain and in shock was they were thrown away from each other. Fennekin was thrown back and land on the ground. Shadow however, was thrown back and hit a wall. He grunted in pain as his back hit the old wooden wall. Startled, the Riolu had lost his grip on his Sparking Stone.

His eyes were closed in agony. What had hit them? Where did it come from? And most importantly, was Fennekin okay? He slightly opened his eyes and looked to his right, seeing her form on the grass. A little beaten, but other than that, she looked fine. Shadow then turned his gaze away from her to straight in front of him. That was when he saw it.

It was definitely some sort of pokemon. Though Shadow had never seen any like this one before. The sun shined down on its yellow and orange coloring as it levitated above the ground. It appeared to have some sort of yellow and orange mohawk on top of its head. The body of the pokemon was black. Its arms were connected to two half bird-like shells, each of which when brought together formed some sort of bird.

For one thing, Shadow got an eerie feeling from this pokemon. He had felt this when Suicune came to him during the night. Could this also be a legendary pokemon? And if so, how many were out there? Tyrantrum had said that there were legendary pokemon that governed certain aspects, such as life and death, space and time. So then, what did this pokemon govern? Moreover, where did it come from? And how did it find them?

For about a minute or two, both the legendary Pokémon and the Riolu stared at each other. Neither had said a word. Fennekin said nothing as well. She too, was mystified by the mysterious legendary pokemon in front of her. Unfortunately she did not know what legendary pokemon it was, or its specific name. It did not focus on her. Only eyeing the Riolu.

However, its gaze shifted towards the ground. Shadow took note of this, and looked in the direction that the pokemon was looking as well. His eyes widened, but he did not gasp, for fearing the wrath of the legendary. Somehow, when the Riolu was thrown back, he had lost his hold on his red Sparkling Stone. He inwardly panicked, silently begging that the legendary pokemon would not take the only item that he had obtained from the Poochyena brothers.

 _Please don't take it please!_ His thoughts pleaded. _Just leave it alone!_ Things didn't work out in his favor. The pokemon eyed the stone, marveling at its unique color and texture. At once it knew where the stone had come from. It touched the stone with its beak-like hand, feeling the unchiseled surface and the power coming from it. The Pokémon had taken its gaze off of the Riolu.

Shadow, noticing this, slowing but surely, trying very hard to not make any noise, got up to his feet. He still looked at the legendary with tense, ruby orbs. _What now?_ He thought in anticipation. _Do I run up to it and take the stone? It might take it. Or do I leave it? No, I can't leave it alone. The stone was given to me, and it belongs to me!_

Having decided, he began to slowly walk towards it. On the sidelines, Fennekin could only watch and wait as he did this. Each step was as quiet as can be. He was definitely trying his best to remain quiet, that's for sure. However, he got close enough to the pokemon, that as soon as he put another paw down on the ground, it turned to face him. Green, emerald orbs stared at him in intimidation. The Riolu felt as it those orbs were piercing his soul. He was very close to the legendary now, almost like he could reach out and touch it.

The Riolu stood there, terrified out of his mind, something that he hadn't felt in a while. Paying no attention to the particular pokemon in front of it, the legendary took its eyes off of Shadow. Instinctively, it's eyes went back to the stone. Finally, the pokemon picked it up and began to examine it carefully. That was when Shadow decided to say something.

"Excuse me," he said. "That stone is…" The Riolu immediately shut himself up as soon as emerald orbs began to stare into his soul once more. He gulped in fear. Despite this, he was able to sum up a little bit of courage to finish his sentence. "Mine...It was given to me by two Poochyena. That stone belongs to me." Shadow finished firmly. His ruby orbs gazed at the red Sparkling Stone which was now in the claws of the legendary pokemon. However, it said nothing about what the Riolu had said to it.

Fennekin could only watch in horror as she watched her friend look the legendary pokemon in the eye. _I hope he'll be alright,_ she thought. _Of course he'll be alright! Shadow's faced tough pokemon before! He can do it!_ She silently prayed to Arceus that the pokemon gods would give the Riolu the strength to get through this confrontation.

In a way, her prayers were answered. The pokemon leaped away from Shadow, leaving him out in the open. The Riolu did not let his guard down. Though for some reason, it didn't appear as if it wanted to fight. Silence hung over the three for about a minute or two. Each were wondering what the other would do next. Finally…

"Tomorrow night," it said, or rather he said. "Here," the legendary gestured towards to ground. That was the first time he spoke. And unfortunately, or in some case fortunately for Shadow and Fennekin, it was the last. Tightening its grip on the stone, the pokemon leapt up in the air and flew away. Shadow grew shocked at this, and immediately ran towards to spot where it once was before, trying to catch it before he left. Despite this, the legendary was already gone. He stood there in the place where it once was, staring up at the canopy of leaves with ruby red eyes. Fennekin came to his side.

"He's gone," she said in shock. The fox pokemon too, looked up towards the canopy, trying to spy the mysterious pokemon. But it was to no avail. She felt bad for this. "Shadow, I'm sorry I…"

Said Riolu looked down towards her. "It's not your fault," he said. "I should've done something to stop him, I…tch!" He grunted in frustration. He turned his head slightly away from her, keeping his eyes closed to prevent a few tears from coming forth from his eyes. "If only I wasn't scared! If only I was…!" She could sense his distress from his words. Fennekin soon took action.

"I don't think even I could have the courage to stand up to a legendary, Shadow," she said. He turned to her, eyes opened and confused. "Legendary pokemon always have that fearful aura. It makes pokemon respect them. But, you stood up against him. Not many pokemon can do that. You do have courage Shadow. You did something that almost no other pokemon could do." Her words of encouragement motivated him slightly. But, there was still the fact that the legendary had his Sparkling Stone. "Thank you Fennekin, I really appreciate it."

"That's what friends are for, right?" She said. And that was the moment that it hit them both. Friends. They were friends. Not acquaintances. Not passerby's. Friends. Something that Shadow felt as if he never had one before. "By the way," Fennekin broke the silence between them. "Didn't that pokemon say 'tomorrow?' And 'here?' It might mean something. Maybe it has to do with the stone."

Whatever it meant, it was something that involved both of them. And like it or not, they have to come back here once more. Unfortunately, both pokemon didn't exactly know where 'here' is. "We need to find out where we are first," Shadow stayed. "If we want to come back here unnoticed, and not be suspicious at the fact that we...teleported here, then we need to get home. Fast."

Each nodding their heads, both pokemon raced out of the abandoned exploration base at normal speed. A breeze blew through the forest, giving Shadow and Fennekin a refreshing cool feeling. Only, it didn't exactly feel like a normal breeze. The smell of salt was in the air, and Fennekin could've swore she felt some sand in the wind. They paused for a moment.

"You smell that?" he asked her. Fennekin sniffed the air. To her it smelled salty, with a hint of fish pokemon. Wait. Fish pokemon and salt? But there were nowhere near…"I do!" She exclaimed. "But that's impossible. We're not near the sea. If we were, then that would mean…" she trailed off. Without thinking, the fox pokemon raced ahead of Shadow at a fast pace.

"Huh? Fennekin, wait!" Shadow yelled to her. But it did not catch her attention. There was nothing left to do but run after her. And so, Shadow ran away from the base, following the path she took. He could feel smooth rocks under his feet pads, almost as if this was a rock path. It very well could've been. A rock path leading to the base would come at no surprise. But, where did this path lead to?

"Shadow!" The golden Riolu could hear the shouts from Fennekin. "Come here! You have to see this!" He pushed forward, running faster. "I'm coming!" He shouted into the forest. At last, he could see a clearing in the distance, with her standing right in the middle of it. Shadow slowed down as he neared it. The smell of salt became stronger as he came up to it. Finally, he had made it into the clearing, and was met with a sight that he always wanted to see.

"Oh my gosh."

The clearing was in fact a cliff. And not just any cliff. This one was in shape of a large whale. Beyond it, was a sparkling blue ocean. It seemed to go on for miles and miles, overtaking their entire line of sight. The sky itself was a crystal clear blue, with thin white clouds. Shadow could see a few pokemon flying in the air. Looking below the cliff was a small beach. One that could be used to enter the ocean safely instead of jumping off of the cliff. Fennekin was in astonishment.

"This...this is Kyogre Cliff," she stated in shock. Only, the Riolu next to her didn't quite understand the significance of said cliff. And so he asked her about it. "What cliff?" He asked. "You mean you know where we are?"

"Sort of," She admitted. "You see, Kyogre Cliff is, or rather was, a sacred place for our village. It was where we made offerings and gifts to the legendary Sea Basin pokemon, Kyogre." Shadow then immediately understood what she was talking about. Tyrantrum had mentioned earlier how the village worshipped three pokemon. Groudon, the legendary pokemon of the land, and the one who brought the sun and hot weather. Rayquaza, the legendary pokemon of the sky, and the one who brought calm weather and peace. And lastly, there was Kyogre.

"Kyogre brings the rain to our village," she said. "Rain is sometimes not all that common, since Ruby Mountain, as well as the other parts of the mountain range, block us off from rain reaching us from the west side of the continent. That is why we are so thankful for Kyogre. In honor of him, our ancestors carved this cliff in Kyogre's image, and thus made it into a shrine."

"However, for some reason, our ancestors stopped coming for a few years. No one knows why or how, not even Tyrantrum knows. But because of this, the village pokemon lost their way when trying to get here. In turn, eventually the entire route to get here was lost, and thus no one ever came here again. Well, until we found it."

"Wait," Shadow began. "If you said that your ancestors forgot how to get here, then what does that mean? Where are we?" Fennekin turned to him in realization. "It means we're on the other side of the continent!" She exclaimed. "Then this is…" he began. Fennekin nodded. "This is the Sapphire Sea."

He couldn't believe it. The golden Riolu was actually seeing it in front of his ruby red eyes. Something that he wanted to see ever since he first saw it on the cliff near the village. The Sapphire Sea itself. While the view of the big body of water from that cliff over the village was nice, this was on a whole other level. This right here was his ticket to answers. In order to leave the Gem Continent, he would have to cross the sea. However, he knew that there was no way to cross it as of now.

"Well, at least we know where we are now," Shadow stated. "And I think I know how to get home." He stepped forward ahead of her, taking in the awe and majesty of the sight before him. "When I first came to the village, Sylveon had pointed out the sea to me. If it's in the east, then that means we just have to head back west. And we'll know if we're close if we see Ruby Mountain."

She didn't respond to him. Shadow turned to her, with a hint of concern on his face. "Fennekin?" he asked. "Are you..?" "I'm fine," she said. She turned her head to him and nodded. "I just...never seen the Sapphire Sea before. And, now with our exploration team, I'll be able to see it even more." The Riolu was a bit confused by this.

"It's been my dream to leave the Gem Continent," Fennekin began. "I wasn't treated very well in the village growing up. And so I vowed to leave once I was old enough. Now, my opportunity has come." She paused for a moment, trying to think of the right words to say. "Thank you Shadow, I...I don't think I would've ever been able to do this by myself."

He felt pride and happiness swell within his soul. The Riolu felt as if part of his reason for coming here was filled. This exploration team was only the first step. He would help those who needed help. Just as he helped Fennekin. "Thank you Fennekin," Shadow answered. He was finding it easier to say thank you than before. There was no headache. No pain. "I should be thanking you. I don't think I would be here either without you."

Something within him was changing. He didn't know what it was. It could've been his personality, his state of mind, anything. The one thing Shadow knew though, was the fact that he felt changed. Like this sort of experienced opened up a new person, or rather pokemon, from within himself. Perhaps he was no longer like his old self. That must be it. The Riolu was a changed pokemon for the better, one who would help those in need. "Come on," he said. "We should probably go home. Everyone might be looking for us."

With that, the two of them ran home, with the Riolu carrying Fennekin. However, then failed to notice something. In the abandoned exploration base appeared the legendary pokemon once more. He watched as the two young children left. The pokemon seemed rather pleased. He knew that they would both come back tomorrow. And that would be when things would be set in motion.

"A trial awaits you, oh Light that Burns the Shadows," he said. "It is something only you and your partner can face together. I look forward to my next challenge. For I, Tapu Koko, will put up a fight." He flew through the entrance to the base, disappearing from view. Once he exited the base, he had flown under a sign. It marked the owner of the base. A distinct paw print could be been on that sign…

...one belonging to a certain fire type cat…

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **And thus concludes chapter 11 of this story. Wow. This was incredibly hard to write. I'm not going to lie, but it was. I'm apologizing for the long wait. So besides that, here's some information.**

 **This chapter was going to come eventually. It felt weird trying to execute it in this sort of way, but it worked out in the end. I know at some points it may look like a plot roller coaster, going from, "Hey! I'm happy you joined," to "Holy Arceus! We're getting attacked!" to "Wow! That's the sea!" Oh well. It, in a sense, makes sense and doesn't make sense at the same time. Fennekin's just there caught up in the action. I try to make her feel helpless and scared, but she'll improve.**

 **Here we are with our favorite golden Riolu. I'm trying my best to not make him like an OC. Though we did get a few interesting scenes with him. That dream? May have taken the lines from Sonic X, but other than that, it is Sonic and Shadow's battle before the Eclipse Cannon. And then Shadow forgets it afterword. It'll make sense later on.**

 **Tapu Koko. Yes, another legendary from Gen 7 appears. For those who don't know who he looks like, just look him up. He's pretty much involved with the trials in Alola. So he's gonna come back later on. And by later on I probably mean next chapter. Oh, he took Shadow's Sparkling Stone...I wonder why?**

 **Lastly, tell me what you guys think! I love reviews! Thank you so much guys for 24 favorites! It means a lot to me!**

 **Oh! I should mention that the abandoned base is sort of like the Pelipper Post office from RBRT (Red and Blue Rescue Team) but not exactly like it. And who owns it? Oooooo. Also Pokemon Sword or Shield?**

 **Anyways, until next time, See Ya Universe!**

 **Palkia**


	13. Ch12 A Trial of Electrifying Light!

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! It is I, Palkia! We have hit the one year anniversary of this story! Holy Arceus! 234 pages and over 100,000 words later, the story has 24 favs, 24 follows, and over 4,000 views! Arceus I should probably update for often XD I'm just lazy. But anyway, thank you so much to everyone who's been following this story for an entire year. It's been a journey, and high school has kept be busy and well as other activities. But, I'm not letting this story die until it's done! SO you can count on that! But before we get into that…**

 **Infinite's Ruby: Hmm so you are wondering about the Sparkling Stone ey? Well, you're about to find out! Thank you for the review dude!**

 **Anyways, enough of my celebrating. Let's get going!**

 **I do not own Pokemon, and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 12**

 **A Trial of Electrifying Light!**

 _Journal Entry #3 October 8th_

 _I'm nervous about this. I really am…_

 _After a few days of punishment, I was finally relieved of it. However, the next day, when I went to tell her about the exploration team, I had fainted in front of her. How embarrassing… When I did, I experienced some sort of dream. From what I thought, it was some memory. Unfortunately, the memory faded away from me once I woke up._

 _When I came out from unconsciousness, I realized that I was somewhere else. An abandoned exploration base. Fennekin said that after I had fainted, the two of us randomly teleported. And I don't know how. She said that I was the one who triggered it. That is one of the things that makes me nervous, actually, more like scared. And that's something I never remember feeling before._

 _I decided to drop it, and asked her about the exploration team, and to my surprise, she said yes. From what I had heard about her, I thought she would say no, because of the fact that she's shy. But when she said yes, I...I just don't know. There was this weird feeling inside of me when that happened. But, I'll save that for later._

 _After that, out of nowhere, a legendary pokemon attacked us. We don't know why it did, but it did take my Sparkling Stone. After that, I just felt so useless. Like I couldn't do anything to stop it. Though Fennekin helped me get through it. But for one thing, it said to come back to the base tonight. And that is was also worries me._

 _When we had returned to the village, it was a miracle that no one had seen us teleport away, or the fact that they didn't know that we were even gone. I'm surprised we even found our way back. Anyway, I gave more details to Fennekin along the way. She liked 'Team Prism' and promised that she would try her best to keep it a secret. Both of us would. No one in the village would know what we saw. Not even the fact that we had found the old shrine to Kyogre._

 _I have done some research on that legendary pokemon, with Fennekin's help of course. I did not want to ask Tyrantrum, for if I did then he would get suspicious of me. So, we snuck into the library below the house, and found a book on legendary pokemon. The name of the pokemon we encountered is Tapu Koko. One of four guardians to the Gem Continent. The others being Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Fini._

 _The book did give us some information about him. It said, "This guardian deity is brimming with curiosity. It summons thunderclouds and stores lightning inside his body. It also confuses the enemy by flying too quickly for the eye to follow." So from this, there is no question that he is part electric. His other typing I am unsure of. But one thing that I'm wondering is why he would want us to come back. Unless…_

He felt a shiver go down his spine at the very thought of it. This couldn't be true, right? Well, why else would Tapu Koko take his Sparkling Stone? This made him even more nervous about the situation. The Riolu began to write once more.

 _I think he wants to challenge me to a battle. Sure, I would've been fine if it was someone like Weavile again, but this is a legendary. I can't underestimate him. This might be a battle of speed. I won't be able to overpower Tapu Koko so easily. The book regards this pokemon, as well as the other guardians, as deities. So that reputation probably wasn't earned by a flimsy pokemon. It is definitely something to watch out for._

 _Unfortunately, during our research, Tyrantrum caught us. He asked us what we were doing down there. I said researching legendary pokemon. Of course, with such a topic, he had to ask why. I was able to make up an excuse at the fact that I was just interested to learn more about them. Fortunately, he took the bait, and left us alone, though I could feel that he was a bit upset by this. I asked him if maybe he could help me by teaching me the language one day, and his spirit seemed to perk up once more. He might start teaching me tomorrow. Well, that is, if I make it out alive._

 _What am I even saying? Of course I'm going to make it out alive! I can't let my spirits be down. I need to have more confidence in myself! Just because I can't underestimate him doesn't mean I can't have confidence in myself!_ The Riolu paused, looking up from his journal. He thought about what to write next. Something came to his mind, and the pen went racing along the paper once more.

 _How much confidence did I use to have? It seems as though I've become the opposite of what I've used to be. And that still frustrates me. Who am I? I've been asking this ever since I came to the Pokemon World. And yet… it doesn't seem like I've found the answer. And, I hate to think it, but there might be a possibility that I may never remember who I previously was…_

 _It's hard to think about sometimes. I do want to know how I am and where I came from, just in case I ever had a family so I could let them know I'm alright. But, at the same time, I don't really want to know. From my past deja vu experiences, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I probably wasn't the nicest person to begin with in the past. The opposite of helping others is doing nothing. The opposite of being nice is just being angry and downright cold shouldered. The opposite of wanting to be with everyone is to be alone. Is that what I really wanted in the past? Why would I ever want to live that kind of life? What made me act and think that way? So many questions and so little answers, it frustrates me._

 _It seems like a long time has past since I came here. Well, it's been a few weeks. And I feel somewhat at home here in the village. Not entirely, I still feel as though something is missing. Speaking of home, I still wonder about how my old home is doing. Is time different there than it is here? Maybe one day here is like an hour there. It's an interesting concept, that you could be growing up fast here, and at the same time, only a minute could pass by._

 _On the topic of that, there's always been one issue I've been having here. I'm always called a kid. And I hate it. It's just...I'm always looked down upon by everyone. Some saying I couldn't do something or I'm too young to do it. I don't know how old I was before I came here, but it gets on my nerves when pokemon treat me like a child or that I'm not smart enough. Well, if they do that, then I'll have to show them the power I have within me!_

 _At least Fennekin will be with me tonight. That's a guarantee. I'm thankful for what she has done for me. Saving me from Tyrantrum, taking care of me when I was unconscious, helping save Poochyena. And now with our secret exploration team, we'll be able to go and help more pokemon, go on adventures, and explore the world. That's what she wanted to do right?_

 _She told me she wanted to leave the Gem Continent and explore the world. And, in a sense, I share that dream as well. I want to know more about this world. It is intriguing. Exploring may help me find out who I am. I may find a pokemon who may be able to take me home, for all I know. It is a thought that excites me the most._

 _But first, I have to get past Tapu Koko. Once I beat him, we'll be able to open up the exploration base for operations, as well as get my Sparkling Stone back. That stone is something I treasure. Fighting for it not only means getting it back, but it also means getting Tapu Koko's respect for me. It'll show him that I'm more than I appear. I'm not just some ordinary pokemon. I'll show him who I really am! I am Shadow! And I will not let him get in the way of my dream!_

…

"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Koko?" a soft, feminine voice asked. Two legendary pokemon were in a cave together. One was Tapu Koko, the electric guardian of the eastern part of the Gem Continent. The other was Tapu Fini, the water guardian of the northern part of the Gem Continent. She too, had some similarities to Tapu Koko, as well as a few differences. Her body was purple and blue, her eyes like that of sapphires. She too, had a shell, only it looked like a swordfish when closed.

"How can you be sure that this pokemon is the Light that Burns the Shadows?" she asked. "Just because you saw a shiny Riolu with a red bow doesn't exactly mean that he is the one of legend." The sound of clanging could be heard in the cave. Both legendaries would've been questioning it, but at this moment, they knew that the clanging meant something important, so they didn't question it.

"I am sure Fini," Koko answered. "He is the one. I could see it in his eyes. There was a fire burning in the Riolu's soul. He stood up to me, something not many have done. And, to be sure, I am giving him my trial." Fini nearly gasped in surprise. Koko never gave his trial to a young pokemon. The last time he did was...

"Is this really a good idea?" she asked once more. "If it's not him, then what? Just say absolutely nothing to the child about why you challenged him?" Koko sighed. He turned to her, with a cold stare on his face. Fini did not flinch when his gaze came to her. She knew he was serious about this issue. However, to her surprise, his gaze softened and he relaxed, eyes traveling down to the cave floor.

"I do not know," he said truthfully. "I am so sure of this child, and yet…" Fini too, let out a sigh. "And yet you're not," she admitted. Koko nodded his head. "You've only met him once. It doesn't really give you that much to go on. And besides, wasn't he not a Pokémon to begin with? He shouldn't look like a Riolu for starters."

"You are right," Koko answered. "But not really entirely." "And what is that suppose to mean?" She asked. "A hedgehog is a hedgehog. One from another world where pokemon don't exist. He's not a…" her words were interrupted by a loud CLANG! To the two legendaries, it signified something important, and thus, made their way deeper into the cave. For Tapu Koko, this was a good sign.

They entered a rather large chamber of the cave. It was a bit rather warm, for a few pools of lava were scattered around the place. In the center of the chamber was a very tall, bipedal dinosaur-like pokemon. It had brown and yellow scales covering its body, with some draping out from its head. On its tail we're scales as well, fashioned to look like a rattle. It had long, huge arms covered in scales, which were most likely used for smashing enemies into the ground. For this situation, they were used for something else.

"It is done, Master Koko," he said to him. Tapu Koko nodded his head to the pseudo-legend. "May I see it?" The legend asked. "Go ahead," he answered. "You can pick it up and examine it if you like. The lava cooled already so it won't burn you when you hold it." Both Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini gathered around the cooling area and stared in wonder at the mysterious object.

It was the Sparkling Stone that Koko had taken from the golden Riolu. Only, it was no longer a Sparkling Stone. Instead, coming out from the bottom of it was a metallic band. The stone itself was carved out, looking as if something could be placed in there and turned. It was now a darker shade of red, for the heating and cooling lit up the coloring. All in all, the stone went from being just a rock to a bracelet.

"I have turned this Sparkling Stone into a Z-Power Ring," the pokemon said. "I chose the Z-Power over the regular in case the user is capable of using… _special_ Z-moves." Koko was definitely pleased by this. "Excellent work Kommo-o," he said to him. "You always do a good job making the rings." Koko grabbed the ring and began to exit the chamber, with Fini following behind him.

"Do you intend on giving him that right away?" Fini asked. Koko sighed once more. "I'm giving him my trial, as I have said before. But, I want to test something. I want to see if he is able to use this." At that moment, Koko held up a orange-tannish colored Z Crystal in front of her. She did not gasp, as she was kind of expecting Koko to do this. "You do realize that he might not be able to use it, right?" she said.

"Pokemon or not, or whatever he is as of this moment, whether it be Riolu or hedgehog, he should be able to use this, and rather quite well, I might add in," Koko said firmly with confidence. "You do realize that _**he**_ is going to be extremely ticked off at you when he finds out that his Z-Crystal was stolen, yes?" Fini added. He turned his back to her and stared at the cave's entrance. "He has another one anyway. And besides…" Koko leapt out into the sunlight. "I think I'm doing him a favor, do you not think?"

Tapu Fini was about to answer, only Tapu Koko flew away with breakneck speed. "Huh? Koko! Come back!" She cried out to him. But it was useless. He was already gone. Her eyes softened after the shock of his abrupt departure. Fini shook her head in frustration, and muttered something under her breath. Behind her, Kommo-o was coming out of the cave as well. He too, was a bit surprised by the legendary's quick leave. But at this point, he shouldn't really be shocked either. He came up to the left side of Tapu Fini.

"Master Koko sure likes to make an exit, doesn't he?" He joked to Fini. Her response was only a groan. "He's stubborn, I'll give him that. Perhaps a bit too stubborn at points. Ugh, he'll never change. He has too much pride, and tries to act serious too often. I won't help him out when he gets caught again." Kommo-o turned to her, knowing what she was talking about.

"He stole a Z-crystal once, didn't he?" The pseudo inquired. She nodded her head. "Unfortunately," Fini stated. "He was always a trickster, never knowing his own boundaries, or anyone else's for that matter. And Arceus, when Koko got caught, he got seriously burned by a flamethrower. Even if it was by a non-fire type, it still hurt like heck to him. I had him lashing for his actions. And thus, he vowed to never steal a Z-Crystal again. Only, here he is now, already stolen one, and pretty soon about to be blown away again by a flamethrower."

She couldn't help but laugh seeing the memory in her mind. The image of a charged black Tapu Koko, with one of the most pitiful looks on his face, and a certain legendary standing proudly over him, like he was his prey. Kommo-o looked confused. "Is something the matter?" he asked. She shook her head. "No, I'm just remembering something from the past."

The two stood there in silence for a moment. Kommo-o began to speak again. "What do you think of this situation?" he asked her. Fini was confused. "What do you mean?" she asked. "How do you feel about this whole, prophecy/legend of sorts? What are your thoughts on it?" She sighed, knowing that this was coming eventually.

"Personally, I think this whole prophecy was a mistake in itself," she answered. "In some ways it is, in some ways, it's not. For one thing, I can tell you that some things weren't exactly meant to be. If Koko finds out and tells us that this child he fought is the one of legend, we have a lot of work to do then."

"And what do you mean by that?" Kommo-o asked. Fini thought for a moment. _Finding the person of legend is one thing. Training him and enhancing his abilities is another. And not to mention, unfortunately we may need Lele more than ever for this. And I_ don't _feel like seeing her again…_

"A lot of things are going to happen," Fini explained. "It's best not to mention it now. And who knows, this may not be the one we're looking for in the first place. I hate to admit it, but I worry about Koko sometimes. He can be stupid, but also an enigma at the same time."

"You mean like the time he said that he was late because a Litten crossed his path? And didn't he steal that line from someone?" "And that's why I'm worried about him," she stated. "Next thing he is going to say is that his left eye got damaged and it got replaced with an even better "enhanced" eye."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Kommo-o chuckled, knowing how stupid his master and friend could be. In a sense, Koko is like a master to him. He raised Kommo-o since he was but a tiny Jangmo-o. The pseudo has gotten to know of the legendary's antics over the years. Kommo-o expected something like this to happen.

"Well," he began. "I am going to take a rest now. "Carving out the stone and fashioning it into a Z-power ring is hard work. With all the heat and arm tension at least. I will see you later Tapu Fini." Kommo-o began to walk off in the direction of his den. "You've earned it," she said. "Enjoy your rest." She watched him as he made his way out of her sight. Fini sighed, and looked towards the sun, which was halfway up in the sky.

"I hope you're right Koko," she whispered. "And if so, we'll have a lot of work to do…" Fini went back inside the cave to rest.

…

The afternoon came and went, as evening slowly came and the sun began to set. For the entire day, the golden Riolu trained and studied. He studied anything he could find about the legendary, courtesy from Fennekin herself, who could translate for him. Shadow felt bad that she had to do it for him. He vowed to learn the language one day, so she wouldn't have to translate.

Tapu Koko was going to be fast. Scratch that, from what he read, he's going to be fast. The Riolu hoped that he was going to be fast enough to match him. At least he had some sort of advantage against the legendary. To his knowledge, Tapu Koko didn't know he had Bone Rush, which would be super effective against him. The rest of his moves were probably normal effective, well at least his other two moves, the last one he had no idea what it was still.

Shadow trained for a while, almost the entire morning and into the afternoon. At one point, he was at the point of exhaustion. So, in hoping he wouldn't faint again (since at this point, many pokemon in the village knew him for his fainting) he decided to rest under a tree. The breeze from the Lake of the Moone, where he trained by, blew past him, cooling his hot, golden fur.

He eventually fell asleep under the tree. Only, it wasn't as peaceful as it could've been. He was plagued by nightmares. The same two voices, the cheerful one and the deep one appeared, this time bickering over something like a date to die for, or something similar. The Riolu woke up with a start, sweat dripping down his face. Only, he couldn't remember the dream.

Shadow wanted to punch the tree in anger, but instead resorted to punching the water of the lake. He hacked and hacked away at it, fury illuminating in is ruby irises. And then, he stopped, exhaustion taking over him once more. Ripples on the water flowed as drops of water fell off of his face. Eventually the water was calm. The Riolu fell to his hands and knees in the not even knee high water with frustration. He stared at his reflection in the water.

 _Who am I?_ Shadow thought. _It's something I haven't been able to answer ever since I got here. I want to find out who I was before I came here._ The water began to ripple once more, as more drops of water from his body reached the water. His reflection became blurred, as the figure of the Riolu seemed to disappear. Then, something strange appeared in the water. He gasped in shock. It was _his_ reflection, but it wasn't _his._

His reflection was no longer a Riolu with golden fur. Instead, it was a tall, strange creature. It had black fur, with a tuft of white fur on its chest. Upturned quills were adorned on its head and red streaks went up and down its body. The reflection wore gloves and red and white shoes. But the most terrifying thing from the reflection was the piercing ruby red irises of its eyes.

"Ahhh!" He cried out in shock. The Riolu fell back into the water, landing on his back. He was completely submerged in the water. Realizing that he was underwater, Shadow raised his head above the water and gasped for air. After some of the water dripped off of his head, he opened his eyes. Once again, he was filled with shock.

His entire body, besides his head of course, had changed from golden fur into black fur. He had the body of the mysterious figure he had seen in his reflection. The Riolu began to panic, not wanting to scream to alert anyone nearby. So, with great care, he lifted his right leg out of the water. Then, as it came out, he realized that his leg was still the same.

"What the..?" he trailed off. Shadow was confused by this. He looked down into the water once more, only to see the strange face once more. The Riolu became terrified of the reflection once more, and immediately ran out of the lake with great speed. He stopped as soon as he came across the tree he had slept over. Shadow felt exhausted, and a little bit terrified to say the least.

 _What was that thing?_ The Riolu wondered. _Was that...me? It makes sense. The red eyes. The black and red streaked fur. The non-humanness. But, that being...it was a monster. It scared me. It didn't look like what I thought was me at all. And yet…_ His gaze went back to the lake. _It did…_

Shadow slept for the rest of the afternoon, hoping to conserve whatever energy he would need for the fight. Thankfully, no dreams haunted him. It wasn't until the sun began to set when he woke up. He ran back to Tyrantrum's home and ate dinner. After that, he went into his room for the night, well that's what he made the village elder think. The Riolu made sure that Tyrantrum went to bed, and when he did, Shadow snuck out of the room through the window. He grabbed a small red bag that Tyrantrum had given him to carry items in. He put his journal in there, as well as a few writing utensils.

 _I really don't like doing this,_ he thought to himself. _But, Tapu Koko wants me there. And I'm not backing down from this fight!_ The Riolu closed the window gently behind him. Quietly, he ran over to Fennekin's home. He looked through the window and saw her sleeping. He began to knock on the window, trying to wake her up.

"Fennekin!" Shadow whispered. Nothing happened. "Fennekin!" he whispered louder. The Riolu repeatedly knocked on the window. Unfortunately, Shadow was unable to open the window because it was locked. And he didn't want to risk breaking the window and get caught. After a few tries, he gave up. _So much for her coming with me,_ he thought.

Moving on from the house, Shadow went to the entrance of the village. He looked back, making sure that he wasn't followed. He sighed. _I'll be back. I'll win that battle against Tapu Koko. And, if I don't come back, then thank you_. _Thank you for everything. I may not have been here for long, but to me, this place is like home. But, I need to find out who I am. I then, Sayonara._ Then he ran out the village with great speed.

The Riolu went eastward, the direction towards the Sapphire Sea. He passed through forests, through fields, and passed by a mountain. It was not without difficulties however. All the while, Shadow struggled to keep his speed in check. Every time he stopped, or when he was running, the pokemon would end up stumbling or falling. His feet would trip him for some odd reason. He would get frustrated at this. Why was this happening to him? He knew how to run. So why was he tripping and falling then?

After a while, he finally arrived to the old abandoned exploration team base. He collapsed to the ground, hurting from the tripping and falling from the run. Shadow panted and his eyes were shut in pain. The winds seemed to stop blowing around him, and the forest was silent. The moon was waning, as its light shined down on the area. The smell of salt water dissipated as the wind died down, indicating the Sapphire Sea was calm.

Suddenly, leaves began to rustle. Bushes began to sway. A figure, cast in a shadow, looked at the poor Riolu on the ground. Seeing that there was no one else around, the figure came out from the trees. It was Tapu Koko himself. He carried the new Z-Power Ring with him. The legendary seemed surprised, as he in some sort of sense did not expect the young pokemon to show up. But at the sight, it gave him a bit of hope.

However, with the condition of the Riolu, he suspected that something was wrong with him. Coming closer to him, Koko could see the slight bruises on the pokemon. It was not from another pokemon, as the bruise areas were sporadic, almost is it they occurred from tripping or falling. And that was when he realized what was wrong.

 _Muscle memory,_ Koko thought. _He's so used to skating that he can't practically run. Sure, he could run at a normal speed, but with a speed he could go at, his muscle memory takes over and thinks he was skating instead or running. Hmm. Well unfortunately, there is no way to grab his old skates for him. And there is no way to make him new ones. Not with those feet._

He went to one of the nearest bushes, which in actuality was an Oran Berry bush, grown by the previous team that inhabited the base. Koko picked one berry off of the bush, and went over to the Riolu. He held it out in front of him. Shadow could smell the sweet scent of the berry, and opened his eyes. His eyes were met with shock, as he looked up and saw the legendary pokemon before him. Tapu Koko was giving him an Oran Berry. But, why was he doing this?

"Eat this," he said. "You will need your strength." The berry was genuine. However, the Riolu wasn't sure whether or not to take it. "Believe me, it is not poisoned, that is the last thing I would do." Koko answered him. Deciding that he would need his strength, Shadow took the berry and began to eat it. He found it to be sweet, but not too sweet. The Riolu grew fond of its taste.

Once he finished it, Shadow stood up. Surprisingly, he wasn't tired or drained of energy. _So this is how strong Oran Berries are,_ he thought. Shadow glanced over at Tapu Koko, who was waiting for him. "Where is your friend?" Koko asked. "I'm not going to battle you until both of you are here." The Riolu stared at him. So he was going to fight him. Then, he sighed.

"I tried to wake her up, but she was asleep." he answered truthfully. "And I didn't exactly want to break into her…" Before he could finish, Shadow heard a rush of wind. Then, the spot where Tapu Koko stood was no longer occupied. He was gone. The Riolu stood there with widened eyes. _Where the heck did he…?_ And a second later, his thoughts were answered, as a flash of electricity came rushing back at him. He braced himself, but before it could hit him, it stopped.

The flash of electricity turned out to be Tapu Koko, who was carrying a _trembling_ Fennekin.

Shadow stood there stunned, but it wasn't because of the legendary pokemon's speed. It was because of the fact that he brought Fennekin here, which meant… "YOU BROKE INTO HER HOUSE?!" The Riolu shouted in shock and anger. Koko placed Fennekin gently on the ground. Once she was on the ground, she ran behind Shadow in fright. "Well, I did not break into her house, I just visited." Koko answered.

"Ahhh...actually he..broke through my window and...carried me here…" Fennekin trembled as her words came out, which were barely above a whisper to begin with. Shadow's eyes narrowed at Tapu Koko when he heard the statement. The legendary just shrugged. "You probably would've done it too," he answered. The Riolu's widened. _What did he mean by that?_ He wondered.

He shoved the thought away and glared back at him. "Where is my Sparkling Stone?" Shadow stated. "You wanted us to come here tonight. Why?" To this, Tapu Koko unveiled what he was holding. For Shadow, it looked similar to the Sparking Stone he once had. But this looked like a bracelet. It has the same red tint, only it was more smooth and round. A band was attached underneath it, so it could easily be put around a wrist. In the center of it was an orange colored crystal, which appeared to be zigzagged instead of diamond shaped. There was no black symbol on it, as if it had been worn off from time.

"That's a Z-Ring!" Fennekin said in excitement behind him. Shadow became confused. Tapu Koko shook his head in response. "Yes, and no," he answered. "This, is a Z-Power Ring. It can allow you to use all of the Z-moves. Even specific Z-crystals fit inside of here." Now the Riolu was even more confused.

"What is a Z-move?" He asked. Fennekin answered his question. "A Z-Ring, or a Z-Power Ring, enables a pokemon to use a special move called a Z-Move. Z-Moves are really powerful, as it combines the energy from the Z-Crystal, which allows the pokemon to use the move, and the pokemon's strength. In general, a really powerful move can be used against an opponent!"

"So, the Sparkling Stone I had…" Shadow trailed off. "Was used to make this Z-Power Ring," Koko finished. "Sparkling Stones are very rare here on the Gem Continent. Finding one is very lucky. I was able to make it into a Z-Power Ring. However…" Tapu Koko turned around and began to stare at the abandoned base. "Those do not just get a Z-Ring. They must earn it."

All at once, Tapu Koko jumped back from where he was, and into a clearing. Electric sparks flew around him, and into the clearing. The area around the three pokemon was electrified, as it became a golden wonderland. Shadow and Fennekin looked around in awe, as tiny sparks danced around their bodies. The energy felt so familiar to Shadow, but he could not remember why.

"I wanted both of you to come here tonight," he began. "Because…" a faint aura of electricity surrounded him. "I am challenging you."

Both Shadow and Fennekin were surprised. Tapu Koko was challenging _them_ to a battle? "Why?" she asked him, as she came up from behind Shadow. "Why are you challenging us?" In response, Koko pointed towards the base. Both pokemon looked at where he was pointing at, and them back to him. "The base?" Shadow questioned. Koko nodded.

"This place has been abandoned for many years," he began. "It needs a new exploration team. I am the guardian of the Eastern Gem Continent, but I cannot be in every place at once. There are pokemon out there in the world who need help. And so, I wish to test you to see if you are worthy to claim this base."

Shadow nearly fell over at the explanation. _Really?_ He thought. _That is one of the worst explanations. But, in a way, I guess he's right. We can't just walk in here and say that it's our base now. Besides, I wouldn't give up the chance for a battle. Not to someone like Tapu Koko._

He was about to take a step forward when Fennekin spoke. "Shadow," she started. "Is this a good idea?" He stopped for a moment to think. Fighting against a legendary was definitely a bold move, and one that couldn't be taken advantage of if they were unprepared. But by this point, it was the middle of the night. Everyone would be asleep by this point. There was no turning back now.

"I must be honest, but I'm not sure if it is either," the Riolu answered. It wasn't a yes or no, which surprised the fox pokemon. "But, if we don't fight, we won't be able to call this base our home. We won't be able to get that Z-Power Ring. And, I'm not the type of pokemon to give up a fight like this!"

As he spoke, his fur began to glow once more. A feeling of comfort and familiarity came over the shiny Riolu. Tapu Koko's eyes widened in astonishment as he saw the sight. _Is this truly, the Light that Burns the Shadows?_ He thought. Fennekin too, stood there in awe next to Shadow, watching as the energy flared up around him.

Shaking off the shock from the sight, Koko stared at them. "This, is a trial that both of you must face. One cannot work without the other. You must decide whether or not to give in." Shadow already knew his answer. However, he wasn't entirely sure about Fennekin. This trial relied on her. She had to participate in order for it to begin.

The fox pokemon slightly trembled as Tapu Koko finished speaking. Her eyes widened in fright. It was as if terrible memories from long ago began to resurface. The moon shining brightly. The darkness overtaking it. The light gone from sight. Running. Panting. Exhaustion! Pain! All of it came back to her. She realized that she was alone in the struggle.

Shadow glanced at her in worry. _What's happening to her?_ He thought. The Riolu noticed her red-orange irises were widened to the size of needles. Fear filled his eyes. _Is she...having a flashback? Is this what Tyrantrum was talking about how she had some bad experiences?!_ His instincts took over him. _I've got to snap her out of it!_ The Riolu leaned over the poor fox pokemon. He put his paws on her shoulders, and began to shake her gently.

"Fennekin!" he yelled. "You have to snap out of it! Whatever you're experiencing already happened and is gone now! Please! You have to listen to me!" Her head leaned forward as he stopped shaking her. She in turn stopped trembling, and once it was over, Fennekin turned her head up to him. The Riolu wouldn't admit it, but he felt relieved that she was alright.

"Sh..Shadow?" She questioned. He nodded his head to her. Shadow let go of her shoulders and stood in front of the fox pokemon. It was then Fennekin realized something. _I'm not alone,_ she thought. _I'm not fighting Tapu Koko alone. Shadow is here with me. We'll fight him together! We're a team! I know we are!_ She began to summon whatever courage was left in her body. _Don't be scared,_ Fennekin thought. _You can fight! Be like Shadow!_

Said Riolu noticed her getting up and walking towards him. He had to admit, he was impressed. "I'll fight alongside you," she said to him. He smirked and nodded to her, and turned back to Tapu Koko as she came up and stood beside him. "I'll fight!" Fennekin yelled to the legendary. "I'll fight as well!" The Riolu shouted. Koko nodded, preparing himself in a battle stance. "Very well," he stated. A stern look came upon his face. "The trial shall commence!"

That was when he surrounded himself in electricity and flew straight at them. Thinking fast, Shadow pushed Fennekin out of the way with great speed. Koko flew past them, missing the two pokemon completely. "That was Wild Charge!" Fennekin exclaimed. "It's one of the most powerful electric type moves out there, with perfect accuracy! So powerful that it damages the user. He's really not holding back!"

 _It's just as a thought it would be,_ the Riolu thought. _I have a feeling he's not just testing us if we are worthy of the base. No, it is something else._ He could feel the sparks nip at his golden fur, these coming from Tapu Koko himself. But taking another look at the legendary, he could see that Koko was in slight pain. _I'm surprised I was able to avoid it,_ he thought. _But from the looks of things, using a self damaging move means that he definitely isn't holding back from us._ A smirk grew on his face. His eyes became tense in determination. Despite the situation, he was beginning to enjoy it! _Finally!_ Shadow thought to himself. _Someone is treating me seriously for once!_

Behind him, he could feel Tapu Koko's aura get close to him. The Riolu quickly used Bone Rush and turned around, hitting the legendary on one of its bird like shell areas. Koko looked pained, but still kept pushing against Shadow. Both were in a deadlock. _He's got strength,_ the Riolu thought. _Bone Rush was super effective and yet it looked like it did nothing to him! This may be a long battle._

The roar of a fire echoed past his ears as a beam of fire came whirling at Koko. He defended against with the other part of his bird like shell. Shadow looked over at the fire's source and saw that it was Fennekin. She was using Flamethrower! It seemed that both pokemon had the legendary stuck.

However, Koko wasn't called a legendary for nothing. In a split second, he surrounded himself with electricity, now able to shield himself from the flames. Koko gather up his strength and landed a hit on Shadow. Said Riolu was sent sprawling back. He was able to stop himself and get up, feeling somewhat fine. Well, other than the fact that some of his fur was partially standing on end and charred form the electric type attack.

Meanwhile, Tapu Koko pushed ahead of Fennekin's flamethrower. After a few seconds, she stopped using flamethrower due to exhaustion. His Wild Charge came straight at her. Despite being afraid, she held her ground, hoping to not be toppled by the legendary. However at the last second, a yellow blur sped by, picking up the fox pokemon, and away from Tapu Koko. Shadow had helped her dodge it.

"None of our attacks are really working," Fennekin said, trying to catch her breath. "We just have to keep hitting him," The Riolu said to her. "If he keeps going for Wild Charge, he keep hurting himself! It'll put damage on him!" She nodded to him in understanding. Both pokemon stood side by side, waiting for Koko to attack. Shadow prepared a Bone Rush, breaking the red aura bone into two to use as weapons.

But then, as Tapu Koko appeared, something strange happened. He had his eyes closed as he began to focus. At last, when Shadow and Fennekin ran at him from two directions, he opened his eyes. He stretched out his beak like hands and released a pink shockwave that could not be avoided. The ground began to shake, and the Riolu and Fennekin were his with the wave's energy. They braced themselves, but even they could not take the blast. Both were sent flying back, each hitting the ground and sliding.

Shadow groaned in agony. He was in a lot of pain. However, it was not enough pain to knock him out. The Riolu stood up slowly, clenching his side. Shadow looked over and saw Fennekin slowly getting up as well. "Fennekin...ugh!" he winced in pain. "Are you alright?" he yelled to her. "I'm..fine," she answered back. The Riolu eventually made his way over to her, now noticing the bruises on his body. "What was that move?" Shadow asked her.

"It might've been Nature's Madness," she answered. "I read in the book that each of the four tapus had a signature move called Nature's Madness. It's a move that deals so much damage that you're halfway from fainting. But for one thing is that the move can't faint you." She added on the last thing as a bit of hope. But for Shadow, it was the complete opposite.

 _That may be true, but if it does half of our health each time he uses it, we might end up fainting faster than expected because of Wild Charge,_ he thought. _We have to do some damage to him, or have him do damage to himself!_ Shadow glanced over at the legendary pokemon, and noticed the bruises on his body. _He must be somewhat damaged at this point. If we can get him to keep using Wild Charge, then we might be able to weaken him down more._

Shadow charged forward, with a Bone Rush ready in both of his paws. He slammed them into Tapu Koko, who just easily blocked them. Both pokemon were in a deadlock once more. "You think you can defeat me?" he inquired. Shadow grunted in response. That was when he noticed the Z-Power Ring. It was still being held by the legendary. He had an idea. "Hmph!" A smirk grew on the Riolu's face. "I'm not sure about the defeat part, but I am sure about this!"

In an instant, using his Bone Rush as a support, Shadow kicked the Z-Power Ring out of Koko's grasp. He did a backflip and landed on the ground swiftly. The ring went flying, landing in a nearby bush, right next to Fennekin. Koko realized what Shadow had done. "No!" He yelled out in frustration. In a second, both pokemon rushed after it. However, Fennekin was able to grab it first. She push away the leaves in the bushes and reached for it. The fox pokemon was able to pull it out of the bush.

"I got it!" She yelled triumphantly. However, this was short lived, as she saw both Shadow and Tapu Koko racing towards her, but not at full speed, since they both had damage. _Oh no,_ Fennekin thought. She would never get out of the way in time. She would have to brace the impact herself. _I can do it!_ Fennekin thought. _I know I will!_

Suddenly, Koko raced ahead of Shadow, covering himself in a blueish energy. The energy was shaped into a bird, and began flying towards Fennekin. "That's Brave Bird!" She cried out. Shadow's eyes widened. He knew that move. Tyrantrum had showed him various moves in a book while learning about what moves he could use. And the Riolu knew that Brave Bird was one of the strongest flying type moves out there. If he got hit by that, then that would just be the end of it. But if she got hit by it, Fennekin would begin to blame herself for the end of the battle. _I got to get ahead of him!_ He thought frantically.

Fennekin's eyes widened in fear. She could not run away from this. The fox pokemon braced herself for the oncoming pain. Fennekin closed her eyes. _Please, let it be over soon!_ She silently prayed. Tapu Koko came racing towards her. It was at the last moment that Shadow pulled ahead of him, and stood firmly in front of the pokemon. "You're not touching her!" he shouted back. And that was when the two pokemon collided.

Boom! The ground shook. The wind howled. Fennekin could feel the electricity nip at her fur. But there was no pain. She opened her eyes, and they were met with shock. Shadow, once again, protected her from another pokemon. His fur glowed brightly, shielding the Brave Bird. He looked back at her, a smirk on his face. "Shadow?" she asked. "W..Why?"

He did not answer her, but his face began to become pained, as he realized he could not hold back the Brave Bird any longer. The Riolu was sent flying through a wall, pain escalating up his body. Finally, he was stopped when his body hit a tree. Shadow landed on the ground face down. He lifted his face up, with one eye open. His vision began to blur, causing panic to spread through him. _No! I can't faint! Not now!_ He thought. _Come on Shadow! Get up!_

The Riolu struggled to get up, feeling the bruises on the side of his body. Once he stood up, his balanced wavered, as Shadow tried to steady himself. He shook away the blurriness, only for him to fall down once more. Then, he saw a bright blurry shape run towards him. It was Fennekin, carrying the Z-Power Ring in her mouth. "Shadow!" Fennekin cried out in fear.

The fox pokemon began to panic slightly. She didn't know anything about healing. Heck she didn't have any move that could be used to heal other pokemon. On top of that, they didn't have any healing berries or supplies. The Oran Berry bush was just too far away to reach. And even if she tried to get there, Tapu Koko would no doubt find her. Looking back at the Riolu, Fennekin could notice his breathing. He was still conscious, but very banged up. Shadow must've been at one health point now.

The sound of electricity could be heard, as Fennekin witnessed Tapu Koko moving towards them. Only, he looked pained and the bruises on his body were more extensive. _He must've gotten badly hurt when he unleashed Brave Bird,_ she thought. _Shadow can't fight in his condition, so I have to protect him!_ Fennekin placed the Z-Power Ring next to Shadow, and then placed herself in front of the injured Riolu. He looked at her with surprise.

"F..Fennekin?" He said. "Wh...why?" She looked back at him, the fear no longer present in her face. She smiled at him, something that Shadow didn't remember seeing often from the fox pokemon. "For the same reason you did." She answered. That was when a fiery aura engulfed her being. On her neck, a necklace with a moon pendant suddenly no longer remained hidden. The Riolu could only state in awe as he watched her hold her ground.

 _What is she doing?_ He thought. Then Shadow remembered something that Tyrantrum had shown him once. It was her ability. During battle, pokemon have these things called abilities, which can either help or harm the opponent or the user. Some could only be activated when Pokémon had taken a lot of damage. Tyrantrum had shown him the example of Fennekin's ability to activate when she was badly hurt. _So it's Blaze,_ he remembered. _Her fire type moves will increase in power. But…_ that was when he noticed that strange necklace around her neck. _Is that the necklace Tyrantrum mentioned?_ He wondered. _That was the necklace she had gotten from the Lake of the Moone. But how?_

Fennekin used Flamethrower against Tapu Koko. Only this time, it was larger and more powerful than before. She landed a direct hit on the legendary, who tried his best to block it. While it was effective, Tapu Koko once more began to push back the fire, cloaking himself in electricity. He sent some of the electricity from his Wild Charge against the flames, which pushed them back so much that is dissolved the flames. Koko flew swiftly towards Fennekin, and slammed into her.

Shadow's eyes widened as she got sent flying out of sight. Tapu Koko followed her, ignoring Shadow. "No!" he cried out. The Riolu tried to get up, only to fall down once more. "Ahh!" Shadow yelled. He looked around, hoping that there would be something to help him get up. That was when he noticed the Z-Power Ring next to him. His eyes were mesmerized by the Z-Crystal in the center. It looked…familiar. He reached out and grabbed it. Suddenly, light began to consume his vision. He grunted, closing his eyes to shield them from the light.

The light disappeared. Shadow opened his eyes and gasped. All around him was metal. Blinking lights and scientific equipment. It was something he had never seen before, and yet it felt so familiar and comforting. The Riolu found that he couldn't move. Where was he? Was he reliving a memory?

 _Where am I?_ Shadow thought. He couldn't see his own body. Suddenly, he saw someone in front of him. It was slightly taller, but only by a few inches. The being was a light grayish-purple, with a very long lavender tail. On its hear were two short horns. Its arms and legs were bulky and muscular, and its hands had three fingers with ball-like tips. The being's eyes were purple, which could look menacing, but as this moment they were soft and comforting.

" _How do you do it again?"_ Shadow asked. Only it wasn't him speaking. It was his past self speaking. It sounded younger than he did now. " _Please tell me!"_ his past self pleaded. " _Show me please! I want to know how you do it!"_ Shadow could see the other being sigh in annoyance.

" _Alright,"_ he answered. But his mouth did not move. He was speaking with telepathy. Its voice sounded a bit older than the young Shadow, but not old enough to sound like an adult. " _I will show you, but promise me you won't tell anyone."_ Shadow could see his past self's head nod up and down in excitement. " _Uh huh! Uh huh! I promise!"_ The young Shadow answered.

To Shadow's amazement, the purple cat began to _levitate_ above the ground and move away from him. He noticed something was on his wrist. It was another Z-Power Ring, only this one was purple. The same Z-Crystal was in it. He landed on the metal floor away from Shadow. Then, he began to position himself. His arms crossed, with the left one with the Z-Power Ring on it over the right. The being arms up and then down in a circle. Then, he lifted his arms and brought his fists together. The left fist was sideways while the right fist was flat. He pounded them against each other twice, and then brought them forward and punched both of them.

Suddenly, he was surrounded in a bright yellow aura, as the power of the Z-Crystal enhanced his abilities. An orange aura then followed. The being flew fast, and then suddenly curled into a ball, spinning faster and faster. At last, he hit the wall, but it didn't seem like there was much damage done. Although, the being did look a slight bit dizzy.

" _Woahhh,"_ young Shadow said in awe. " _That is so cool! Can I try? Please!?"_ To this, the being shook his head. " _Not today. Someday. I will say that I'm not the greatest at performing that move as the other one, but that is basically how it works."_ The being answered. Past Shadow seemed to be upset.

" _Aww but I wanna try!"_ He exclaimed. The being walked over to the young Shadow and bent down to his level. " _It's best for you to try it later. When you're older. Then you can control yourself. And when you do, we can battle each other, how does that sound?"_ Young Shadow nodded to this, a smile forming on his face. " _Yeah!"_ He shouted. " _I'll be the best fighter in the universe!"_

The being could only chuckle at this sight. " _Come on,"_ he said. " _It's time for bed."_ He gestured over to a door. " _But I don't want to sleep!"_ The young Shadow whined. The being looked puzzled for a moment. Then, he thought of something. " _Tell you what, if I get us both Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream, will you go to bed?"_ He offered. " _Yeah!"_ Past Shadow exclaimed. He then jumped into the being's arms, feeling the soft light purple fur. The two laughed for a little bit, and soon, the Present Shadow's vision was shrouded in light once more.

The Riolu opened his eyes, and saw the forest once again. He no longer felt any pain in his body for some reason. In his left paw as the Z-Power Ring, now glowing with light. Shadow pushed himself off of the ground fairly easily, and was able to get up without injury. _Wasn't I just unable to stand up?_ He thought. Shadow shook the thought away. The sound of a lightning strike was heard in the distance. He ran as fast as he could towards where it struck the ground. Shadow realized that he was heading towards Kyogre Cliff. Is this where Tapu Koko went? And where was..?

"Ahhhhhh!" Fennekin screamed. His eyes widened in fear. The Riolu hurried until he saw a clearing in the distance. He began putting on the Z-Power Ring on his right wrist, hoping it would be of some use to him. He finally reached it and saw Tapu Koko standing over a quivering Fennekin, who looked very hurt and in pain. "Stay away from her!" The Riolu cried out, running at the distracted legendary. Shadow had Bone Rush at the ready, and swung hard into Koko, causing the legendary to fly back from the sudden force.

"Shadow!" Fennekin exclaimed, shocked by how in the name of Arceus he was able to recover from the Brave Bird from earlier. He stood in front of her, turning his head back and nodding slightly, a smirk growing on his face. She nodded back to him in assurance, now knowing that Shadow would take over the battle for now.

Koko struggled to get up. He actually felt the Bone Rush from earlier. But one question still remained. Where was the Z-Power Ring? Last time he checked, Fennekin had it. The legendary glanced over to the fox pokemon, only to see the Riolu standing in front of her, protecting her. Looking down to his wrists he could see the Z-Power Ring on the right wrist. _It seems to be responding well,_ he thought. _Now let's see if he can use it!_

A stare down began between the two pokemon. Neither made a move. Each wondered what the other would do next. Finally, it was decided when Tapu Koko cloaked himself in electricity, and flew himself towards Shadow. Another Wild Charge. If this hits the Riolu it would be over. But Shadow wasn't going to let that happen anytime soon.

The Riolu remembered the movements that the purple cat had showed him. He began to move his arms up and then he crossed them, having the right one over the left one. The Z-Crystal began to glow while was going this. Then the Riolu started to spread his arms apart and made his hands into fists. He put them against each other, one was sideways while the other was straight. Finally he brought both fists forward and punched. Once he was done with the movements, a great power overcame his body, sweeping through him like a tidal wave.

 _Woah,_ he inwardly thought. _So this is what it feels like to use a Z-Move. Alright then, let's test it out!_ At that moment, Shadow, surrounded in golden energy, raced towards Tapu Koko. The legendary Pokémon's eyes widened as he saw what was coming towards him. Then, the two pokemon collided. Both of their energies held them at a standstill. Fennekin could only watch in awe at the raw power that Shadow was using. _He managed to use a Z-Move?_ She thought. _But how!? Shadow didn't even know what these were a while back!_

Seeing as this wasn't getting anywhere, the Riolu remembered the spinning motion that the purple cat did. _Do I have to do that too? I'm gonna be dizzy from this. Here goes nothing!_ Shadow curled himself into a ball, letting the energy around him take over. He began to spin faster and faster. Koko was having a hard time holding him back. The Wild Charge was starting to take its effect on him, as pain came to him. That was when he realized. _He truly is the Light that Burns the Shadows…_

Finally, Tapu Koko gave away, and Shadow slammed right into him.

The effect was instantaneous. Koko was sent flying back into a tree. Then, he slid down onto the ground. Once he realized he wasn't barreling into the legendary anymore, Shadow uncurled, the energy slowly disappearing. He felt woozy from all the spinning, but he was determined to not faint. The Riolu was catching his breath when he began to realize what had happened. Glancing over, he saw Fennekin, who was still standing. Looking back at Tapu Koko, Shadow saw that the legendary wasn't standing. He had fainted.

His eyes lit up in excitement. A joyful expression came across his face. "Yeah!" He jumped up, raising a fist in the air. Fennekin too, was filled with joy. She got got up from where she was, and ran over to him. "We just beat a legendary!" She exclaimed in happiness. "I can't believe it! How were you able to use a Z-Move so fast like that!?" "Uhhh well…"

Before he could explain anything, a groan was heard. Shadow and Fennekin looked over to see Tapu Koko slowly waking up. They rushed over to him to make sure he was alright. Koko finally got up on his own and stood before him. However, there wasn't a defeated look on his face. Instead, it was a proud one.

"I congratulate you two for defeating me," he stated. "And I am rather impressed as well. Both of you were able to fend me off until your partner got there to help you." He looked over at Fennekin. "I am impressed that you were able to draw out your ability. Rarely can any pokemon do that. And you used it to your advantage." Koko then glanced over at Shadow. "Your speed rivals if not surpasses mine," he stated. "You thought quickly and removed the Z-Power Ring from my possession. But the question remains. How were you able to use it?"

Both Koko and Fennekin looked over at him. Shadow looked a little bit nervous, but he regained his composure and began to speak. "A purple cat showed me…" he admitted. That was the moment he felt faint. His head began to spin, and his eyes began to blur. _What is...happening? No...not again…!_ His body could no longer stand upright, and he fell to the ground. His eyes began to close as the sweet embrace took him over. Shadow was unconscious.

"Oh no!" Fennekin exclaimed. She immediately rushed to help him, but Tapu Koko moved his beak-like hand in front of her. "He will be fine," he stated. "He is exhausted from the battle and the use of the Z-Move." Koko glanced over, and noticed that the sky was beginning to change color. _Has it been that long already?_ The legendary thought. Fennekin too, looked in the direction where he was looking, and also saw the change in the sky color. She began to panic a little.

"I have to get home!" Fennekin exclaimed. "Tyrantrum will kill us if he finds out we were out here!" Koko saw the distress on her face and soon began to try to calm her down. "Do not worry," he stated. "I will take you home. Here, take this with you." The legendary held out something to her. It was a Wonder Orb, however this one was a yellowish color instead of blue. "This is a Warp Orb, only it has been modified. If you ever wish to come back here, you may use this. I have one for Shadow as well. This orb can be used infinitely, meaning it will never disappear. So you may come here anytime you like."

Her eyes glistened with happiness. They were now owners of the old base! She could come back here anytime she wanted and fix the place up, which it was in desperate need in. Fennekin nodded her head to him. "Th...thank you!" She said. Koko shook his head. "You defeated me in battle. The honor is mine. However…" he glanced back at Shadow. "We will work on the foundations of the team… eventually." Fennekin found herself looking at the unconscious Riolu as well.

"What about Shadow?" Fennekin asked, a hint of fear filled her eyes. She did not want to be caught by Tyrantrum, especially when it came to this. "He will remain with me for the time being," Koko stated. "He isn't injures badly. Shadow will return when he is ready. I will make sure of it." Koko grabbed onto her with his beak-like hand, holding the Warp Orb in the other. In an instant, they were back in the Emerald Village. Everyone was still asleep. They had landed in the back of Fennekin's house. The window looked untouched and undamaged, even when he somewhat opened up the window to get into her house.

Fennekin crawled back through the window and into her room, clutching the Warp Orb. "Thank you for bringing me home," she said to him. "Please help Shadow. He's done a lot for all of us here." Tapu Koko nodded, and in a flash, he was gone. She snuggled back into bed, secretly taking out a Sitrus Berry and eating it to restore her health so no one would suspect. After she ate, Fennekin turned her head towards the window, seeing the remnants of the sun slowly rising in the sky.

 _I hope you are alright Shadow,_ she thought to herself. _I want to thank you for what you did. And I just hope that you're not in a lot of trouble either..._ She sighed and rested her head on the pillow. Fennekin fell asleep, hoping to get some sleep before she had to wake up again. Hopefully no one in the village would notice.

On the other side of things, Tapu Koko had quickly set up a makeshift bed out of leaves for the unconscious Riolu. He placed the Pokémon in the bed, minding the injuries he had sustained. For one thing, Tapu Koko suspected that Shadow didn't just faint from his injuries.

 _He is the Light that Burns the Shadows,_ Koko thought. _He was able to use the Z-Move. And remarkably well. However, the way he learned it makes me wonder...But this also means greater things are to come. He needs to channel his energy. That is why he fainted. Hmm… I may have something in store for you, Shadow, and be ready for what I have, because it won't be easy…_

He turned away from the Riolu to get berries for his injuries. The sun was beginning to rise. What Tapu Koko didn't notice was the sight of the Riolu's fur glistening in the sunlight…

…

 **Author's Note**

 **That is the end of Chapter 12! Finally! Alright, let's get into some stuff!**

 **Before we go into anything, I want to apologize for being so late with this. I usually try to aim to update within a month, and it hasn't gone well this time. Life's been hectic, with school going on, I being forced into Tennis (which I really hate btw since I don't get to play but still have to show up) and today my laptop's screen broke off of its hinges so now I have to get a new one. But I promise to be more consistent from now on.**

 **This chapter was hard to write I will admit. Hence why I started on 'Eternal Wind.' I had writer's block halfway through this, and I needed to get my mind off of it. But I will not be abandoning this. I will finish it!**

 **Ah finally, the long awaited (we'll sort or long awaited) battle against Tapu Koko. I feel like I'm bad at writing fight scenes XD Tapu Koko's moveset were actual moves he could learn, and most of them were physically damaging ones (so maybe I made him a bit easy, but he's not the strongest legendary in the books) I tried to have Shadow and Fennekin work together somewhat, but I feel like Fennekin took a Sakura approach and obtained her uselessness as any Shonen female protagonist would. But I promise to make her fit a bigger role later on down the line. There's a reason for this.**

 **Ah Shadow. You don't look so good. You look like you've seen a ghost...of yourself? But no ghost can bring you down...right? The obligatory creepy reflection scene makes it in here too. And Shadow himself that whatever he saw was indeed a monster. Ooo wait till he realizes who that was. Also I'm going to stop the whole 'Shadow faints, end Chapter,' thing. Again there is a reason for that. I just haven't said it yet.**

 **Lastly, what did you guys think? Thank you guys so much for your support on the last chapter! I really appreciate it! I love reviews! So let me know what you guys think!**

 **Hmm, so where did Tapu Koko get the Z-Crystal from anyway…?**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya Universe!**

 **-Palkia**


	14. Ch13 Deepening Light

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! We are back here with Chapter 13! Lucky Number! (I think XD) But before we get into this…**

 **Infinite's Ruby: Thank you dude! The Z-Moves are going to play a good part in this. I'm glad you thought it was intriguing!**

 **Ok, so I have two guests who replied to me, so the first guest is the one who left the review first and the second guest is the one who left the most latest review.**

 **Guest #1: This is why I created the story in the first place! I love the Mystery Dungeon Series! I played through Explorers of Time (I ended up getting Mudkip btw, and I freaking love Mudkip) and I wanted to cry at the end of the game. Since then I've played through all of the Mystery Dungeon Series games. It's sad that so far from the latest Pokémon news that there isn't going to be another game in the series (unless they manage to pull it out of the Distortion World) So, I wrote this as the "Gen 7 entry" in the series if you will. Also this story is kinda hard to find from the fact that it's a Pokemon-Sonic crossover, and those tend to be not as popular as other things XD Thank you dude for the review!**

 **Guest #2: Holy Arceus that's a long review XD But that's a good thing! For Shadow at least, the point of the Mystery Dungeon series is to set a new path from your old human life. In Explorers, you were originally helping Grovyle steal time gears, something that everyone thought was a taboo. In Red and Blue Rescue, at one point you are suspected of committing the infamous Ninetales crime. Shadow's past is going to come up a lot going forward, and even he will be questioned by what he's done.**

 **Also thank you for appreciating the fight scene. I kinda hate fight scenes as half the time I don't know if I'm dragging them out too much or not lol As for the team, pokemon will definitely come and go. As Sonic Unleashed says, "The possibilities are never ending!" But there will be a variety of pokemon. And as I've said before, I intend on finishing any story I write, because I know the pain and torture one goes through when they find a story that's incomplete and hasn't been updated in three years. Thank you for your review dude! It means a lot!**

 **I think it's a good thing my laptop broke. I'm not as lazy anymore, and it seems now that my writer's block has cleared. So thank you once again, I really can't thank you guys enough, for all of those who have followed and favorited the story up to this point. And now, I give you Chapter 13!**

 **I do not own Pokémon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 13**

 **Deepening Light**

"Aww where's Glowstick when you need him?" Monferno groaned. "He just had to run off! I could care less about what happened to him. But noooo! Tyrantrum's got the whole village searching for him! What's so special about him anyway? He's just a dumb idiot."

The fire monkey was _definitely_ not happy this morning. He wanted to sleep in late, but the banging on his door this morning told him otherwise. When the village elder had woke up this morning, the shiny Riolu had gone missing. Sure, Tyrantrum wouldn't have minded if this was after breakfast. Waking up to find that he was gone, and that the fact that the window was left unlocked worried him. Once everyone woke up, well mostly everyone, many were tasked to find the missing pokemon. Even the young ones. The village elder had ask everyone if they had seen the missing Riolu. Unfortunately, no one knew anything.

Unbeknownst to them all, Fennekin somewhat knew where he was. All she knew was that he was with Tapu Koko. But the exact location was something she didn't know. He could be in the old abandoned base, or somewhere else. So she tried her best to hide the fact of where Shadow was. And thankfully, they believed her. One good thing was that somehow, Koko had fixed her window, so the suspicion around her was no longer there.

"I don't get why we have to search for him too," Monferno complained. "He's not even from here to begin with!" "Well, he's still part of the village," Skitty said to him. Her and Monferno were in a group of two searching for the Riolu. "Even if he might not be from here, Shadow is part of the village. Many of us are grateful for what he has done."

"My question is where _is_ he from?" Monferno replied. "Think about it, we know nothing about him! Nothing! And yet Tyrantrum decides to welcome him in with open arms! Don't you think that was a little suspicious?" Skitty sighed. She knew the truth about Shadow, the fact that for some reason, but even she could admit that she was a bit skeptical of the story. The pokemon had just woken up from unconsciousness after all. And Sylveon had found him just roaming around right?

Though Skitty could not deny the feats that Shadow had accomplished. Incredible speed. Astonishing strength. The power to use moves that weren't even usable to the normal Riolu. It's like he came from Arceus himself. And yet, no one knew nothing about him. Not even Shadow himself. And yet, was it true? Was it true that he fell from the sky? They all saw something fall from the sky. Nobody knew if it was true or not. They began to believe it was Shadow.

"I don't know," Skitty admitted. "I don't know much about him to begin with. No one does. It does seem suspicious." Then again, why would Shadow lie? He was as honest as can be. And yet, something seemed off. What if he did lie? Just to get into the village? No. He would never do that.

"Fine," Monferno sighed defeat. "I'll just have to force it out of Glowstick when I find him." "I don't really think that's a good idea Monferno…" she began, but was soon cut off. "Of course it is!" He exclaimed. "How else are we going to get anything out of him? You have to ask him yourself! That's how I see it. And if he doesn't answer then you use force!"

"That idiot blocked my Mach Punch! Something strange is going on with that guy, and I don't like it one bit! No one should be able to match its speed. It always hits first! Don't you think that isn't the littlest bit strange!?" Skitty didn't know what to do. She wanted to believe the Riolu. And yet what Monferno was saying to her felt true.

"I do!" She exclaimed in nervousness. The fire monkey had never seen Skitty yell. "Just a little bit…" Her ears lowered in defeat. "So much has happened ever since he came here. I don't know what to believe about him. I find it odd how ever since he came here, Tyrantrum's been _nice_. I don't know why, but he seems different now…" Skitty decided to change the subject. She didn't want to stay on this.

"How long is it till the Festival of the Litleonids?" She asked. "39 days," Monferno replied dryly. "A little over a month. November 17th." He didn't know why, but it felt as if he and the other young pokemon of the village didn't care about that day. Sure, it was meant to be a day for celebrating the harvest and such, but it never really struck a cord with the young pokemon. Maybe it was because of the way they were raised to uphold it so much.

"Then that means the shrine has to be fixed soon, right?" Skitty asked. "I don't see how anyone's gonna be able to fix it," Monferno replied. "Those stones are over thousands of years old. They came from the Sapphire Sea, Ruby Mountain, and some other location no one knows about. Even if we manage to get the stones, it'll take a while to repair it to begin with. And we already did our "ceremony" for Kyogre anyway. I don't get why we even do this. It just seems stupid. Maybe when I was younger I believed it. But now...it just seems like there's something off about it. It doesn't feel the same." Skitty felt the same way too. "I understand," she answered him. "I feel it too."

"Like something's changing?" Monferno inquired. Skitty nodded. "Yeah, I just don't know. I remember a time where Tyrantrum used to be so harsh on all of us, especially you and Fennekin." The cat began to think back to a time when they were younger. Monferno was a Chimchar. The children were tasked with repainting the shrine, and he accidently repainted it the wrong color. Tyrantrum got so mad that he nearly ripped him apart.

"Heh, I remember that day," he stated. "Was terrified out of my life. I didn't think I could get in so much trouble in my life. I guess I've been trying to making it up to Tyrantrum since. To show him that I can do something right." "I hate to say it Monferno, but you're kinda going around it the wrong way," Skitty told him. The fire monkey threw her a questioning look. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you've been bullying pretty much everyone else here," she began. "Tyrantrum begins to loathe every time you're mentioned or seen." "I was trying to show my strength to him I guess," he replied. "I always thought he wanted pokemon that were stronger." "So you tried to show it then?" Skitty asked. Monferno shrugged.

"That old man has been favoring Glowstick for some reason," he said angrily. "And I hate it!" The fire monkey picked up a stone and threw it as hard as he could. It surprisingly went very far, skipping over a stream and landing on the other side of it. Skitty could see the anger written on Monferno's face. "It's not fair dang it! He should be praising me for my actions! But no! That frickin Riolu comes into his life like it's his prodigal son!"

"Monferno please calm down!" Skitty attempted. "No! I won't calm down until I see that Riolu out of my village!" he exclaimed in hatred. His tail flame began to darken a little, but Skitty didn't notice it as she proceeded to grab water from the nearby stream. She began to throw water in his face, knowing that it would be super effective on him and hopefully calm him down.

"Ahh! Ahh! Stop it!" he tried to shield himself from the water, but it was no use. The water was hitting him no matter what he did. His tail flame began to lighten up a little, as the darkness disappeared. The fire monkey collapsed to the ground, panting and trying to catch his breath. He immediately tried to get the remaining water droplets off of his fur.

"Ugh I hate water!" Monferno complained. Skitty sighed in relief. It worked. "Are you alright?" She asked him. He gave her a questioning look, then relaxed. "Yeah yeah I'm fine. Let's keep moving. The sooner we get the job done the sooner we can go him and get out of this mess." "That's something I would like to do very much," she replied. The two began to walk through the forest once more.

However, while Skitty was busy looking, something began to bother Monferno. _What was I doing?_ He wondered. _I don't remember. One minute I was having a conversation with her, then the next…_ His mind felt fuzzy after that. _There's nothing. The next thing I remember was water being thrown at me. Why was she doing that?_ He shook his head. _Argh! I'll have to figure that out later! I need to find Glowstick and give him a piece of my mind for running off! He shouldn't have done that, idiot!_ Then, something strange occurred in Monferno's mind.

 _Since when did I start caring about him?_

* * *

"I've brought some herbs," Koko offered to Fini. "Thank you," She said in reply. The legendary grabbed the picked vegetation from him, and set it down on the table in front of her. It was a small wooden one. On it were a small mortar and pestle, as well as a few berries and other herbs. They weren't for her of course. They were for Shadow, who unfortunately was still unconscious.

"He's been like this for almost 5 hours," Fini stated. "He also seems to have a fever as well. I've mashed up from Rawst berries to give him, but since Shadow's unconscious, the best I can do is to put it on his body." She began to administer the blue substance that she had made from the Rawst berries onto his skin. Fini put some on his head as well. Once she was done, she rinsed off her hands in a nearby stream.

"There's not much else I can do now," Fini said to Koko. Said legendary nodded. "Do you have any idea what could have caused this?" he said. She sighed. "I'm not sure," Fini answered. "You just had a battle with him It could be a number of things. Exhaustion, stress, other various things. Or he could've just fainted normally after the battle was done. But there's something more here."

"He fainted just after he said, 'A purple cat showed me,' which has me worried," Koko mentioned. "And I highly doubt that a Purrloin showed him." Both legendaries felt a feeling of dread wash over them. If it really was who Shadow meant, then they would be terrified. "You don't think it's _him_ do you?" Fini commented. "Unfortunately I think it is…" Koko trailed off. "And you know as well as I do that I do not want to meet him."

"Meet who, I may ask?" a voice echoed to them. Both Tapus turned, and saw someone in the clearing. It was Suicune. And it seemed like he had a grin on his face. "I didn't expect to see you here," Koko said to him. The legendary beast began to walk towards them. "Neither did I," he answered. "I can't leave anyway, so I thought I would look for a challenge." He noticed the unconscious Riolu. A frown began to form on his face. "Though I think I found something else. What happened to him."

"Passed out," Koko replied. "It was probably because of an energy burnout. Fini's doing her best to help him out, but we must wait till he wakes up." "And how did he come to this in the first place?" Suicune asked. "Because some idiot decided to battle him to see if he was the 'Light that Burns the Shadows,'" Fini replied, with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Koko began to blush in embarrassment.

"You do realize that not only is Lunala going to kill you, but so is Arceus, and pretty much everyone else?" Suicune growled. "If it helps, he also stole a Z-Crystal from guess who and Shadow stole it from him and used a Z-move," Fini stated. That was when the North Wind snapped, and launched himself at Tapu Koko. The Tapu quivered in fear as the legendary pinned him down, resisting the urge to shock him since that would make him even more mad.

"I am stuck on this _miserable_ place of a continent, with the most idiotic of legendary pokemon." he mumbled to himself, then turned to Koko. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW STUPID YOU ARE?" he roared. "You stole a Z-Crystal! One that hasn't been purified yet! It can't release energy, it takes it! Who knows what it could've done to him!" Koko felt terrified. He just wanted to run away from here and hide. The beast on top of him had anger written all over his face.

Suicune loosened his hold on the Tapu. Once he did, Koko immediately made a break for it, pulling out from underneath him. Unfortunately he went too fast, causing Suicune to be pulled down onto the ground. He saw this happen to the North Wind, and began to panic. With great speed, he flew away, not even looking back. Said legendary beast groaned, having felt the tumble he took to the ground. He shook his head, slowly getting up. His vision began to clear, only to see that the electric type legend was gone.

"TAPU KOKOOOOOOO!" he howled, angered that the Tapu flew away in fright and cowardness. But by the time Suicune said this, Koko was long gone. He gritted his teeth in anger, silently swearing that he would kill him later. Suicune sighed and shook his head. The beast walked over to the unconscious Riolu, wanting to check the extent of his injuries. At first he noticed a few bruises on the poor pokemon, but then Suicune realized that he was warm, very warm.

"Shadow's had a fever for a while now," Fini said to him. "I haven't been able to do much about it since he's been unconscious. All I've really done is crush up some Rawst berries in the mortar and pestle and put some on his forehead. The poor thing. He's been unconscious for a while." "Could you explain to me what happened last night?" Suicune asked. She sighed, and nodded to him. "Yes, I can," Fini stated.

"From what Koko told me, it was definitely an interesting fight. The Riolu came, but for some reason Koko decided to break into someone's house and bring his friend as well." Suicune nodded, knowing the exact pokemon she was talking about. "Fennekin correct?" He asked. "Yes," she answered. "Though I don't see why he had to bring her here. He could've just battled Shadow. But then again, I had warned him to not fight him, and look where it brought us."

"She seems to be somewhat attached to our patient here for some reason," Suicune stated. "I don't why or how. Lunala doesn't seem all that surprised about her, and rather the opposite. She is interested in her, which is surprising." Fini nodded, then continued. "Once she was brought here, Koko wanted to fight them, and she seemed to go into shock. He didn't know why she did."

"From what I heard from Lunala, an event occurred on Full Moon Island in the center of the Lake of the Moone a couple of years ago," Suicune began. "I do not know much of the details, but Lunala definitely had something to do with it. And unfortunately she hasn't told a soul about it. But it might have something to do with Fennekin. Yes, while legendaries such as us are revered and worshiped in a sense, pokemon do not cower before us, even the most youngest of them all. If she had feared Koko, then something must've happened. Continue."

"Alright," Fini started. "Shadow managed to calm her down, and the battle began. Those two struggled that's for sure, especially when Koko used Nature's Madness. However, he managed to get the Z-Power Ring away from him, and he used it. Shadow had said to him earlier that he had no idea what a Z-Move or a Z-Ring was, which is suspicious. But then Koko asked about it and…" Fini was acting nervous. "What did he say?" Suicune pestered.

"He said a purple cat showed him…"

This caught Suicune off guard. Only one pokemon was capable of that intelligence as well as skill and description. And everyone knew full well to stay away from him. This situation had just gotten more complicated than he thought. "I see," he said. "You don't think it's.." she trailed off, not wanting to say his name. "I believe it is," Suicune answered. "Which does have me nervous."

"After that, he just fainted," she said. "Koko delivered Fennekin home, and came to get me. I've been trying my best to take care of his health since then. That's pretty much about it." Fini shook her head and sighed. "I had warned Koko about doing this. About stealing the Z-Crystal and battling Shadow. But he barely listens to me. He's too curious, too excited sometimes. Koko has good intentions, it's just he goes the wrong way about them. And he acts serious about it too!"

"It's not your fault," Suicune said to her. "I know what it's like to deal with _siblings_ ," he growled out the last part, referring to the other legendary beasts, Raikou and Entei. They could also be annoying at times. Raikou being too carefree, doing whatever he pleases and not minding anyone. Entei being too serious, taking a surprise party like it was an attack, and nearly blew everyone up, as well as being angry all the time.

"Sometimes, you cannot change someone's point of view. Especially with siblings. It's just best to not do anything, and let them deal with it." "Oh well," Fini said. "I guess you're right. At least Arceus can deal with him now, and I hope he gets what he deserves." Suicune shook his head. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I highly doubt that Arceus can come here to begin with," Suicune stated. "I do not know why. I can't leave here either. When I came here, it was a few months ago. Ho-oh wanted me to check the continent out for some reason. But when I wanted to leave, something was there, on the water. I don't know what it was, but I could feel its energy in the wind. It was... _dark_...negative. Something that I haven't felt in a very long time."

"Did you encounter it?" Fini asked. "No," he answered. "I could sense it. And I didn't want to deal with it. I began to run back to the island over the water, but then a strange storm appeared. The waves grew high and the clouds darkened. I ran as fast as I could, until I got struck by lightning. My memory is hazy, but I remember sinking into the water and it coming towards me. And then…"

He shivered at the thought of it. Fini had never seen Suicune like this. "I don't remember the rest, but it came near me while I was underwater. I could feel the darkness. I managed to block the energy out of my heart, and soon afterward I passed out. A while later I woke up on a beach, somewhat remembering what happened. That was a few weeks ago, and I haven't gone there since."

Fini stood there shocked. Two things began to run through her mind. The first was Suicune's condition. Why didn't he tell anyone about? If it was an event that serious then hen should've at least mentioned it. The second thought was that _thing._ Whatever it was attacked Suicune. How did she not know about this? Fini would've sensed if something was wrong.

"So basically no one can leave the continent?" She said. Suicune nodded his head. "Unfortunately yes," he replied. "For one thing, they'll know that someone happened to me. I was supposed to go back a few weeks ago, report to Ho-oh, and possibly report to Arceus. Raikou and Entei will definitely be concerned. There's a slight possibility that a barrage of legendaries will come to find me and attack that thing as well. But whatever or whoever it was, it was strong. It's energy showed that. I was lucky to make it out of there."

"The question is, what do we do now?" He wondered aloud. "Not too many Pokémon inhabit this continent to begin with. Other than the Emerald Village. And Arceus put a ban on normal pokemon leaving the continent to begin with, so that shouldn't be much of a problem. The question is what to do about that thing. If it comes onto land, then it's gonna be a disaster."

"How many legendaries are on the continent?" Suicune asked. "Myself, as well as my three siblings, Lunala and Solgaleo," Fini began. "Well at least the ones who are sane." "You're calling Koko and Solgaleo sane?" Suicune chuckled out. "I wouldn't call them _completely_ sane," Fini laughed. "But it's certainly better than _others._ "

Suicune nodded, knowing which two water and ground legendaries she was talking about. He looked over at Shadow, who was still unconscious for the time being. An idea formed in his head. The legendary did have the ability to purify water. He began to slowly pick up the Riolu gently, then placed him securely in his long purple mane.

"Where are you taking him?" She asked curiously. "I'm taking him to the Lake of the Moone," he stated. "The lake has healing properties, and along with my ability to purify water, his fever should go away. I will also take his Z-Power Ring and purify the Z-Crystal, so that it can no longer suck the energy out of him, but rather give him some." He turned to leave, only for Fini to stop him.

"Wait!" Fini called out. "Hmm?" Suicune gave her a questioning look. "Koko told me that the Fennekin he brought said that Tyrantrum would punish them if they were found out here! Koko didn't say to them that he was testing Shadow if he was the 'Light that Burns the Shadows,' he said that he was testing them to see if they were worthy of owning the base!"

"I have observed that village while I have been here," Suicune began. "Tyrantrum is the head of the Emerald Village. He's against having pokemon exploration teams for some reason. I don't know why, but if he finds out that the two were out here fighting Tapu Koko for an abandoned exploration base, he'll never let them out again…" "That's what I'm worried about," Fini said. "The village used to have an exploration team, but they went missing one day when they went up to Ruby Mountain. Since then, Tyrantrum banned exploration teams."

"Which means I'll have to come up with an excuse then," He noted. "Thank you for telling me. I must head off to the lake." Suicune nodded to her in gratitude, and began to run. Soon he was out of sight, determined to get the unconscious Riolu to the lake as fast as possible. Once he was gone, Fini sighed, exhaustion overtaking her. She sunk down to the ground. "Well, I'm glad that's…"

"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAA!"

A loud roar was heard as it echoed throughout the area. She groaned, knowing exactly who the owner of said roar was. "Ugh, looks like he found him," Fini said. She began to get up from where she was. "Looks like I have more pokemon to calm down…" Fini finally got up, and began to fly to the center of the continent. "I just want to go home…"

* * *

"Can we please go home now?" Monferno complained. It was already midday by that point, and both pokemon had been searching for a few hours. Each were beginning to become hungry and thirsty. And not to mention that Monferno's temper was once again beginning to rise. Skitty too, was feeling the effects of the long day. She wanted to find Shadow, but at the same time she wanted to get something to eat.

"We can't go home yet," she said to him. "We must find Shadow first, then we can go home." Skitty was becoming more annoyed by the second with the fire monkey. "Let Glowstick fund is instead then!" Monferno yelled. "I'm tired of searching for him!" The pink cat once again groaned in frustration at his attitude. Although, there was one option around this. She usually didn't like disobeying Tyrantrum, but things would get done faster if she and Monferno did this.

"Tell you what?" She said to him. "Why don't you go that way…" Skitty pointed ahead. "...and I'll go the other way." She pointed behind herself. "That way both of us can cover more ground and hopefully find him first. If we find him, we bring him back and eat lunch. Does that sound good?" _And also get away from your attitude,_ she mentally added.

"Well, it's better than searching for Glowstick together I guess," Monferno said to her, with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. "Fine. You take that way and I'll take this way." Skitty wanted to celebrate at the thought of getting away from him. "Alright, we meet back here in about an hour, ok?" The fire monkey nodded his head.

At once, both pokemon began heading in different directions, with Skitty heading to the north and Monferno to the south. The fire monkey felt as if he could finally speak. _Thank Arceus she came up with that idea,_ he thought. _I couldn't stand her constant nagging and pestering any longer. I probably would've hit her if my temper went up more…_

He walked in the forest for miles on end, still finding no trace of the Riolu. All around him, Monferno noticed that some of the leaves on the trees were slowly beginning to change color. Some were becoming red, orange, or yellow leaves. The fire monkey liked the leaves as it reminded him of himself, full of fire and bravery. Something that he wish Tyrantrum could see him as.

A wind began to blow in from the north. To Monferno it felt cold, and possibly a little bit freezing. Hmm? This was October, not January. Why was there a cold wind like this one? October wasn't that cold of a month. Sure it was cool, but it was never freezing. He continued to walk on, using his tail flame as a heater, as well as protecting it from the wind. _Geez, who turned on the air conditioning?_ He wondered. The monkey's teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. He put his arms around his body, hoping to keep some heat in his body.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of galloping coming up from behind him. Monferno began to panic, as he thought a stampede was coming towards him. He immediately jumped into a bush, hoping that whatever it was would pass soon. The fire monkey heard he galloping stop for a moment, as a giant shadow of a pokemon made its way over the bush. He looked up at the shape that was causing the shadow, and nearly gasped.

It wasn't a normal pokemon, it was Suicune. Now Monferno understood why it was so cold. Suicune was the North Wind personified. He was one of the legendary beasts, a group of legendaries that was highly revered. But Suicune didn't live here on this continent. So why was he here? And better yet, why was he running away?

Monferno wanted to find out why. He saw Suicune land on the ground, but something seemed off about him. The fire monkey noticed something in his mane. Was that…? _Is that Glowstick?_ He thought to himself. _What the heck is he doing? Why does Suicune have him?_ He wanted to know more. As soon as the legendary was far enough away, he began to follow Suicune in the direction he went in, making sure that he was not in the legendary's line of sight.

Suicune ran south, carefully minding his own presence, since he didn't want to attract anyone. He had been running for about a half an hour at almost full speed. The legendary couldn't run as fast as Raikou, but he could go a decent speed. Shadow was still secured to his mane, clearly at no risk of falling out. _We'll be there soon,_ Suicune thought to himself, as if he was sending a silence reassurance to the ill Riolu. _I promise I'll get you there…_

He had ran over hills, over plains, and even over a mountain, and now was currently running through a forest. The leaves were changing slightly to different colors, signifying the coming of fall. The trees began to clear away, as he could see the lake in sight. _Finally made it,_ he thought. _Oh, I need a break._ Suicune came to the water's edge and began to drink. He lapped up the water swiftly, letting the satisfying feeling go down his throat. _Not as good as the water at Crystal Clearing, but I will take it for now._ Unbeknownst to him, Monferno had followed him, and was currently hiding within a bush, observing Suicune.

The legendary set one paw on the water. It did not get wet, but instead stood on it. The water began to glow a bluish color. It began to spread until it covered a little part of the shore line. Satisfied at what he had done, Suicune gently took the Riolu out of his mane and placed him in the shallow water, shallow enough so Shadow's head could remain above the water.

Monferno stood there in curiosity. _What is he doing?_ He wondered. After the unconscious Riolu was placed in the water, it changed from a bluish glow to a golden glow, almost as if it matched Shadow's fur. For a few minutes, Suicune stood there, watching the Riolu carefully and waiting for the glow to stop. The glow began to fade, and soon disappeared all together. That was when the pokemon's red iries began to open once more.

Shadow opened his eyes slowly, light entering his eyes. He blinked, trying to take in his surroundings. He felt an odd feeling around him, like he was in...water? The Riolu tilted his head, only for water to splash in his face. Immediately Shadow sat up, desperately trying to get it out of his face. "Ugh!" he spat water out of his mouth. He put a paw up to his forehead, breathing in and out steadily.

"Wha...What happened?" Shadow asked. His memory was hazy, and he couldn't remember what occurred. "Where am I?" How did he get in the water in the first place. Then the memories came back to him. Tapu Koko. Fennekin. The battle. That purple cat. The Z-Move. Everything...hurting...Shadow clenched his head in agony as another headache came forth. It didn't last long, as he shook it away. His thoughts came together, noticing the time of day. It was noon. That was when he gasped. _Tyrantrum's gonna kill me!_

He began to stand up, trying to run back to the village and apologize to Tyrantrum for why he was gone. But before he could do that, something stopped him from moving. Shadow looked down and saw a blue furred paw against his chest. Unfortunately for him he recognized the coloration. He slowly looked up, and his eyes widened at the owner of the paw. Suicune was towering over him.

"You are fine, yes?" Suicune asked. Shadow stood there, frozen with fear, not knowing what to do. He decided to simply go for a nod of the head. "I must apologize for earlier. That Z-Crystal was not ready to be used. Even for you. That is why you fainted." Monferno watched the scene before him, his curiosity rising every second. _That idiot managed to find a Z-Crystal and use it?_

"I also apologize for the actions Tapu Koko took against you. It was unjust of him to fight someone like you." _You are not even ready for what is to come,_ Suicune mentally noted. He moved his paw away from the Riolu. Shadow brought up some courage to speak to him. "But I accepted the challenge," he answered. "Tapu Koko just said it was a challenge in order to gain the rights to the base."

 _Did he just say Tapu Koko?_ Monferno thought. _Challenge? Base? I knew he was up to something suspicious, but I never knew that he was up to something with legendary pokemon. I better listen in on this for now._ He stood still in his bush, carefully trying to prevent himself from being seen. Even going as far as covering his tail flame so it wouldn't give off a glow.

"It is much more than that," Suicune said to him. "Though you probably wouldn't understand at this moment." Shadow crossed his arms in frustration. _What did he mean by I wouldn't understand? I deserve to know! I fought Tapu Koko and won fair and square! Suicune is treating me like a kid! I had a feeling Tapu Koko wasn't just challenging us for the base!_ Something felt like it had snapped inside of Shadow, as he stood up to face the beast.

A scowl began to form on the Riolu's face. "I would understand if you stop treating me like a kid!" He yelled. Both Suicune and Monferno were left in shock, the latter trying not to gasp at the language the Riolu used towards the legendary. He had actually talked back to Suicune, someone who was revered and seen as a legend. To treat him like this was inexcusable. And Monferno was seeing it happen before his eyes. _Glowstick's about to get it now!_ He thought, a smirk growing on his face.

"Everyone does that to me!" Shadow exclaimed to Suicune. "I don't know anything about my past life! I'm trying to find out about it, and all of the pokemon don't even treat me seriously! No one tells me anything! And I hate it! I hate not knowing!" His ruby irises glared at the legendary with anger and hostility. Suicune however kept his calm persona, mentally scolding himself to not teach the Riolu a lesson. He sighed and shook his head.

"Many would not understand," Suicune replied to him. "They must find it out for themselves. You must find it out for yourself. I am not telling you anything." He turned his back to him. The Riolu still felt angry at him for saying this. "Come with me, I will take you back to your village. I will be able to come up with a good excuse for why you were gone." Suicune began to walk away. But the Riolu did not follow him. Instead he sat on the ground near the water, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

 _I don't want to follow him back,_ Shadow thought. _He's not exactly the nicest guy. And yet...He's able to get me out of trouble from Tyrantrum. I do want to go back to the village and see everyone. I just wish everyone stopped downsizing me and see me for who I am._

Suicune couldn't feel the Riolu's presence behind him. He looked back and saw Shadow sitting on the ground, a stern look on his face. "Well, are you coming or not?" he asked him. The golden Riolu stood still, like if he was contemplating something. Suicune became worried, but he didn't show it. _He's starting to act like his old self,_ he realized. _Lunala's going to kill me…_

After a few moments, the Riolu got up and sighed, head low. "Fine," he said, barely above a whisper. He walked towards Suicune at a slow pace. Soon the two pokemon began walking away from the lake. Once they were out of sight, Monferno came out from the bush he was hiding in. He was both confused and intrigued.

 _So let me get this straight. Glowstick has amnesia. Last night he fought Tapu Koko and won. And used a Z-Move. Not to mention this?_ A smirk grew on his face. An idea formed in his head. _Heh, I knew he was suspicious. I know exactly what to do now. But I can't do it now...When I do it, I'll show Glowstick who the top pokemon of the village is!_ At that moment, darkness began to fill his heart…

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Hey guys! That was chapter 13! Yee! Let's get into some things**

 **This was a little shorter than my usual chapters. I tend to aim for about 20 pages per chapter. But this was one of those occasions where it ended up being 13. This is one of those obligatory have to explain this chapters. Eh it's alright. But hey, some old characters come back! Skitty and Monferno are here! And oooo, is that Suicune? All of these guys will play a bigger part as a story go on.**

 **Oh good morning Shadow! You seem awful grumpy don't you? I wonder why that is? For those of you who don't know what Z-Crystals are, let's just say they aren't minerals to begin with. They are something else! What is that something else? Go and look it up! There is a reason why Z-Crystals have to be purified.**

 **Lastly, tell me what you guys think! We currently sit at 25 favorites and 24 follows! Thank you so much everyone!**

 **Ooooo what does Monferno mean by Tyrantrum should be favoring him?**

 **Anyways, Until Next Time, See Ya Universe!**

 **Palkia**


	15. Ch14 The Path of Secrets

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! Palkia's back with Chapter 14! Yee! This story is getting so long that I have to start another Google Doc because everything wouldn't load XD The story's almost at 300 pages, so I appreciate all of you how have continued to follow the journey of this story! Bur before we get into this chapter…**

 **Infinite's Ruby: Tension and seriousness is definitely going to come in the later chapters. When? You'll have to find out! Thank you for the review, as always!**

 **That One Guest: I'm very happy you appreciated the previous chapter. The last chapter just felt eh for me, but now I know that it was good. And that's awesome that you picked up Explorers of Sky! It's a real amazing game! Another thing I will say is that I really like vulpix and its evolution Ninetales. So vulpix is awesome. And the post game is great. Personally I love Palkia's Onslaught (wish the music was in SMD) and Darkrai as well. Thank you once again for the review, I really appreciate it!**

 **Now, onward with the story!**

 **I do not own Pokémon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 14**

 **The Path of Secrets**

"NO!" Mewtwo cried out in agony, as he shot up from his bed from a nightmare. His fur was drenched in sweat, he himself gasping for air. Mewtwo's eyes were widened in fear, desperately searching around the room to find out where he was. He wondered why he wasn't at his home, that being the Island of Isolation at the Mist Continent. Then the psychic cat had realized that he was in the Hall of Origin, not at his home.

He sighed in relief, clenching his head with his right hand. It had been a week since he was first called by Arceus to the hall for an urgent meeting. Said urgent meeting turned into a man hunt, or rather hedgehog hunt, for Shadow. But the most terrifying thing that night was when Dialga had lost control and Roar of Timed Palkia. Thankfully the spatial legendary was fine. The same could not be said for the temporal pokemon.

The past week had been a busy one, from going over search reports for the missing hedgehog to monitoring Palkia's health and keeping a close eye on Dialga. Mewtwo was becoming more exhausted everyday since Arceus put him in charge of search operations. It was the most logical choice after all. Mewtwo was one of, if not the smartest pokemon out there. He just didn't think it would be that stressful.

The recent reports for the search efforts proved to be disheartening. Colbalion informed that he, as well as Virizion, Terrakion, and Keldeo found no sign of the hedgehog or a pokemon with a red bow on the Water Continent. So that was ruled out. The next report came in yesterday from Entei, saying he as well as the other legendaries in the Sea of Wonders could not find any sign of Shadow. That ruled out that area too. And those were the smallest regions in the Pokemon World.

But Entei then told Mewtwo how Suicune was still reportedly missing. Even Ho-oh, the one who brought the three legendary beasts back to life and shared a deep connection with Suicune, could not sense him anywhere. In fact, it was Ho-oh who had sent Suicune out to gather information, but for some reason the fire phoenix could not remember where he had sent the water legendary. All he knew was that Suicune was supposed to come back about a few days ago to report to him.

The news got worse when there was still no sign of Lugia either. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, the trio of birds that Lugia presided over, had no clue where the trio master went. Moltres, who lived on the Air Continent with Lugia, could not find a sign of him. Ho-oh too, couldn't find Lugia, as during certain seasons the brother of the fire phoenix would come to the Sea of Wonders on a vacation to a certain area called the Sea Shrine.

With Suicune and Lugia's disappearance, all of the legendaries have been on high alert. All of them have been told to stay within their respective homes unless coming to the Hall of Origin or going to another continent for an emergency. No exceptions would be taken. Arceus was already on edge enough. No one needed him to be angrier than he already was. And when the Alpha Pokemon was mad, it was almost guaranteed that you would be sent to the Distortion World.

Mewtwo used his psychic powers to levitate himself out of bed. Then, he levitated the blankets and sheets back to their original position. _Oohhhh today is going to be another stressful day isn't it?_ He thought to himself. He flew over to the nearby coffee machine in his room. Trying to decide between coffee and mint flavored hot chocolate, Mewtwo decided to go with the hot chocolate, since he needed to herbs to calm his mind from the most recent nightmare. Once it was done making the drink, he tried it, satisfied in its minty flavor.

He took ahold of the mug with his mind, and brought it over to white couch he was going to sit on, as well as place the mug on the white table. _Well doesn't Arceus have lovely taste,_ Mewtwo thought, noting that he was getting extremely tired of waking up to an entirely white room. He set the minty hot chocolate-filled mug down. The psychic cat then glanced at the stone tablet on the table.

 _I still haven't fully translated that yet,_ he thought. _There are still some things I don't quite understand. From what I could understand from the professor's notes, or what little I could get of them, legendary pokemon are indeed involved with this._ He took a sip of his hot chocolate. _If only I could understand Ancient Mobian. I have mastered many languages, and yet it still isn't enough._

 _If only I could get more of his notes. At least try to find something that wasn't erased from the incident. The professor kept everything under lock and key. So it might have been possible he kept more research somewhere. But, if it's one place I never want to go back to in my life, it's there…_

He sighed heavily, grabbing the mug and began to walk out of the room, hoping to get some color in his vision other than white. _I'll figure out more of that later,_ Mewtwo decided. _There are more important matters I must get to at the moment._ He closed the door behind him, entering the hallway that led to other rooms in the Hall of Origin. These were guest rooms of the legendary pokemon if they decided to stay the night.

Mewtwo never really came to the Hall, as he had other matters to attend to than spend time around other legends. Plus more than half the time, when he came into a room everyone immediately became on edge and spooked. It wasn't his fault that Mewtwo himself was like this. No one really knew much about him, and unfortunately the only thing everyone absolutely knew was the fact that the psychic cat tried to destroy the world at one point.

He preferred solitude anyway. Mewtwo felt more comfortable in a cold dark cave than around others. It was just his nature. He'd rather have it that way than having tons of eyes staring at him, waiting for him to attack someone. And besides, he wasn't much of a decorator to begin with. Mewtwo didn't feel like fixing up the room yet.

After walking down the hall, the psychic cat entered a large room, which was, surprisingly enough, white. There was a large staircase that led up to a platform. On top of said platform were four podiums. One blue. One purple. One yellow. And one white, which stood above the first three. That was where Arceus was currently located.

This was the meeting area of the Hall of Origin. Whenever Arceus wanted to call a meeting of all the legendaries, they would all meet here. There have been discussions, arguments, and so many questions in this one room given by the legendaries themselves. Mewtwo was usually never called to the meetings because, A. Everyone would be once again on edge, and B. None of the meetings usually involved him anyway.

"Ah, good morning Mewtwo," the Alpha pokemon greeted him. "I trust that you slept well?" "Yes," the cat immediately said, not wanting to bring up his nightmare from earlier. While Arceus would know what his nightmare was about, he didn't want to say anything. Mewtwo and Arceus were never really friendly around each other. The psychic cat wasn't created by him, and yet somehow they can retain some sort of conversation together.

"If you don't mind, I wish to check the status of Dialga and Palkia," Mewtwo asked. Arceus nodded his head. He had been very concerned about the health of his first two children, and who even knows about Giratina at this point. With two probably going insane and one seriously injured, Arceus needed all the help he could get to help them. Fortunately the psychic cat knew a thing or two when it came to this kind of stuff.

"Very well," he said, approving of his actions. "You may go. Please, be careful Mewtwo." While the god didn't outwardly show his caring side that much, especially to the genetic pokemon, he does care about Mewtwo. Even though Arceus didn't create him, he was still part of Mew, a pokemon he did create. And sometimes the psychic cat and the alpha didn't see eye to eye, in the end Arceus did see Mewtwo as one of his own. Even if it wasn't that way truly.

Mewtwo nodded, and proceeded to leave the room. The psychic felt a chill go down his spine, as if Arceus' red eyes were staring into his soul, trying to find out what he was hiding. Ignoring that, the cat left the god alone. He flew down the hall towards one of the creation trios' doors, the nearest being Palkia's room. However, just as he was about to open the door…

"BANJOOOOOO!" he heard a roar of happiness beyond the ruler of space's door. Mewtwo stood there confused. _Banjo? He doesn't mean…_ His suspicions were correct, when he opened the door. Inside was a very enthusiastic Palkia, waving his arms in excitement as he was lying on the bed. "YES! YES! YES!" he cried out in joy. The psychic cat then turned to the source of what he was excited, and then realized what it was. He knew about this for a long time, being a psychic and all, but the fact that Palkia was moving his shoulder around aggravated him, as he had told the spatial dragon before to not move it.

"Hrrrmmmm," he growled, baring his teeth slightly. This caught Palkia's attention, now realizing that Mewtwo was in the room. He stared at the psychic cat, his eyes widened in fright, and his face now blushing in embarrassment. "Oh hi Mewtwo!" Palkia exclaimed, trying to hide what he was doing. The TV however, was still on. Mewtwo crossed his arms, eyes closing. "Didn't see ya there!" Palkia continued. "I was just uhhhh…"

"Sleeping?" the psychic cat inquired. Oh how Mewtwo was going to enjoy this. "Yeah! Totally!" Palkia said immediately. Mewtwo opened one eye and gestured over to the TV. "You weren't watching anime were you?" he asked. Palkia threw his hands up in the air, shaking them back and forth. He began to shake his head back and forth as well. "What?! Oh no no no! Mewtwo you've got it all wrong! I was listening to the TV so I could fall asleep to it! Yeah!"

"So nothing explicit?" he asked, holding back the urge to chuckle at the fact that he had caught Palkia. "Definitely not!" Palkia replied. "So what _were_ you doing when I came here?" Mewtwo asked. "O...oh! This?" The ruler of space began, referring to the movements he was making earlier as well as the shouting. "This is...uhhh...Mongolian Throat Singing Yoga! Yeah! You shake your arms around and shout as loud as you can! Does wondrous work on the shoulders, as you can see."

"In that case…" Mewtwo shut the door behind him, now pulling up a seat and sitting down in it. "Could you elaborate, or rather, _demonstrate,_ how it works?" The genetic pokemon swore he could visibly see sweat trailing off of Palkia's head and down his neck. "Hehe, well you see…" Palkia began nervously. "I can't really do it right now...I uh, I'm kinda tired, and my...my shoulder's aching from the workout…" He saw Mewtwo raise an invisible eyebrow, giving him a questioning look.

"In a good way! In...a good way! I swear! It's meant to ache! At least that's what the video said! And well…" Palkia could now see Mewtwo's amethyst eyes staring at him, almost as if they were staring into his very soul. He blushed in embarrassment even more, almost as if he was in his shiny form. "I mean...you know how singing is Mewtwo! It takes the breath and energy out of ya! And when you sing, you have to have this positive energy flowing…"

"Banjo was meant to be a surprise you know…" Mewtwo stated. "At first when the idea was mentioned, all of us thought, 'You're crazy! It's impossible!' However, somehow he was able to get in. He himself wanted it to be a surprise, so he wanted to wait longer until now to reveal it." "Wait you knew?" Palkia's face lit up with excitement. "What's he like? Is he an amazing guy?! What's Kazooie like?! Is…"

That was when he noticed that Mewtwo had a smirk on his face. Palkia then realized. Of course Mewtwo would know that he was lying. He sighed, wings lowering in defeat. "Fine, you caught me," Palkia answered. "I may or may not be watching stuff from other dimensions that Arceus forbidden me to watch, as well as not resting and not even realizing that I was hurting myself. Blah blah blah watching stuff from other dimensions is bad, blah blah blah just like watching anime, blah blah blah just give me my punishment…"

"You must realize that I am not Arceus," Mewtwo stated, his eyes softening. "But...that doesn't mean I won't give you a punishment. Come here." The psychic cat levitated the space dragon and flipped him over, so that his back was facing up. He placed Palkia gently back down, and released his hold. Then, he flew over towards the dragon's right shoulder, the one with the broken pearl.

Mewtwo began to examine it, noticing that the major cracks that were made about a week ago were almost completely healed. Only some minor cracks were left. He gently knocked his fist on it, noting that there was no reaction from Palkia. Then his eyes began to glow blue, and the pearl itself glowed blue. Mewtwo used his psychic powers to check the energy flowing through the space dragon's shoulder. It seemed to be stable. The psychic energy pouring out from the cat stopped, and then he flew next to Palkia's face.

"Your pearl is healing up nicely," he commented, clearly satisfied that Palkia was heeding his suggestions. "The chaos emerald is making it go faster. Which is...a good thing." The psychic cat was still a bit nervous about using the chaos emerald. He knew about the recent events with the emeralds losing their power, and he had hoped that the one that Dialga had stolen from Mobius would not lose energy anytime soon.

He was lenient about using the energy from the emerald to heal Palkia at first. The energy from the gem could corrupt at any moment, which not only meant that it could lose its power, but it could also pass the corrupted energy along to Palkia, which would be extremely bad. So far however, the emerald retained its energy, allowing the space dragon to heal. Palkia was desperately needed, since Dialga could no longer hold his brother's duties.

"You know, I actually want to heal," Palkia replied sarcastically. The genetic pokemon glared at him. "I know how impatient you can get. But you must promise me that you will not overwork your shoulder for the next few days, possibly a week. We all need you to heal as soon as possible." "Wow, I feel needed for once," Palkia stated.

"You know what I say is true," Mewtwo stated. "Yeah yeah, you're just saying that because of what I did for you and…" Palkia was about to finish, when Mewtwo glared at him in the eye. "Even if I was never meant to exist," he began to say to Palkia in a menacing voice. "And if I never existed in the first place, there would still be a being out there any universe or dimension that would need you. I owe you my life. Just because of my experience with you doesn't mean that there won't be 100 beings out there who will need you."

Palkia sat there in silence for a moment, not saying anything to Mewtwo. He looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet his gaze. Normally the psychic cat wouldn't do this, but he peered into Palkia's mind, to see where these statements came from and what made him say them. He knew that the space dragon would never say such things like this. So what made him say this?

"Palkia?" Mewtwo asked. Said pokemon lifted his head. "Who said these things to you?" The space dragon searched his mind for an answer. "I don't know…" he stated. "Define I don't know," Mewtwo inquired. "I...I…" Palkia stuttered. "Tell me Palkia! Tell me!" The psychic cat yelled. "This is important!"

" _He_ told me…" Palkia answered, which was barely above a whisper. Now Mewtwo was even more confused. "He?" the cat asked. "Who is _he?_ " "I don't know," the space dragon answered. "I...I fell asleep one night, and I heard this strange voice in my dream. It was telling me how I wasn't needed. How I should just give in." He was shaking slightly now. "It...it was awful Mewtwo. It was this awful feeling that came over me. I felt sick."

"Darkrai?" the psychic cat said. Palkia shook his head. "No...Darkrai and I have been on good terms since the Spacial Rift incident. Heck, we even watched the Direct a week ago together." He gave Mewtwo a sheepish look, knowing that he shouldn't have revealed that piece of information. Mewtwo sighed, and gestured for him to continue. "It definitely wasn't Darkrai. He didn't sound like him at all."

The genetic pokemon now had a good idea about who did this, but at the same time, he didn't. Could this be how the Darkness had spread? And was there a sentient being behind all of this? In the past, he had read stories of the Bittercold and Dark Matter, of how they became the personification of many pokemons' hatred and negativity. But those types of beings were destroyed hundreds of years ago. Hatred would never rise again in that sort of form.

Deciding that it would be best to change the subject, Mewtwo began asking the space dragon how he was feeling. "Any aches or pains from your shoulder?" he asked. Palkia shook his head. "No, not really," Palkia answered. "It's been feeling better. I can move it around very well, hehe, as you saw earlier."

"Is there anything I can get for you?" the psychic said. Palkia shook his head, however he immediately took it back. "Well, there is one thing that I…" he began to answer, but was soon cut off by Mewtwo. "No," Mewtwo answered. "As punishment for not obeying what I told you to do, you will not be getting any Chinese food from me." "Awwwww," Palkia whined.

Seeing that the space dragon was doing fine, the psychic cat decided that it would be best to check on Dialga. He stood up from the chair, and made his way towards the door. "Hey Mewtwo?" He heard Palkia's voice behind him. Mewtwo turned around, now facing Palkia. The TV was still on, now showing a few people with strange plushies of strange pokemon. "Hmm?" The cat hummed.

"I've always wondered," the space dragon began. "Since I've just been on the sidelines and distort space for people. What's it like?" Mewtwo now understood what Palkia was asking about. "That is a story for another time," he reassured him. "Aww come on!" the space dragon complained. "At least tell me something about it! It must be fun, right?!" Mewtwo however, shook his head. "It was...awful. That's all I have to say. I don't want to go back there…" Palkia sat there in shock, now even more curious as to why Mewtwo would say such a thing like that. However, both pokemon began to hear something on the TV.

"...players will be able to transfer their pokemon from Pokemon Home only if they are in the Galar region pokedex…"

Both Palkia and Mewtwo looked back and forth between each other, making sure that what they had just seen and heard on the TV was true. Said device continued on. Once they realized that what they had heard was indeed true, they stared at each other with eyes filled with shock. It was Mewtwo who broke the never ending silence.

"We ARE getting rid of that timeline, yes?"

"Yep."

* * *

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"For the love of Arceus, Palkia, can you just go away? I have a blinding headache." Within another room lay the ruler of time, Dialga. He too, was forced to rest after last week's disaster. Unlike Palkia, he was taking this a bit more seriously, since he didn't want another Primal event happening once more.

"It's just me," A voice told him. Dialga then realized that it was Mewtwo. "You mind if I come in?" he asked. "Sure." The psychic cat opened the door to Dialga's room. Unlike Palkia's room, which was more techy and sci-fi like (since he was the ruler of space after all) Dialga's was more laid back and casual, with a medieval style. That however, didn't mean he had some technology, as he did own a TV and a switch. And was Mewtwo staring at Legend of Zelda-themed posters?

"How are you feeling?" the psychic asked, sitting down on a chair. "Eh fine, I guess," Dialga answered. "I've had this headache for a while. There isn't anything else other than that. No power surges. No losing control. Nothing." This was good news. After the event, Mewtwo had constantly been checking on Dialga, just so he wouldn't lose control. So far, the ruler of time seemed to be doing well.

"Physically, you are fine," Mewtwo began. "How about mentally?" Dialga sighed, now plopping back down on the bed. "Ooohhh I feel like a trainwreck," he answered. Mewtwo raised an invisible eyebrow to him. "Is this about Palkia?" the genetic pokemon asked. "You seemed angry earlier, when you thought I was him."

"I don't know," Dialga sighed, his head lowering. "I feel terrible about what happened. Maybe that's why I have this stupid headache. I've wanted to apologize to him, and yet I don't have the courage to go up to him and say I'm sorry. I just wish this headache would go away." Ah so that's why he was stressed.

"If you don't mind, I could help you relieve some of your stress," Mewtwo offered. "Believe me, I am experienced." "Please," the time dragon begged. "I want this headache gone." Now that his offer was accepted, Mewtwo began to fly and flew to the back of Dialga's head. His eyes then began to glow blue, and his paws were then surrounded by a blue aura. He placed his paws on Dialga's head.

"Palkia is getting better," the psychic cat mentioned. "How is he?" Dialga asked, with a hint of worry in his voice. He knew the extent of the damage that he caused. Every time Dialga brought up his brother, the time dragon seemed to get more and more concerned. And every time he brought up Palkia, he seemed to blame himself more and more.

"He is healing nicely," Mewtwo reassured him. "I just recently visited him." To make him feel better about the situation, the psychic cat projected the previous events into Dialga's mind. The time dragon sighed in relief. "He never changes does he?" Dialga chuckled. "Always disobeying the rules." "He hasn't changed in a million years," Mewtwo commented.

"If you must know the extent of his healing," he continued. "I will gladly tell you. The most serious of his injuries, his right shoulder pearl, is almost completely healed." While he could not see Dialga, he could hear him sigh in relief. "His other injuries have already healed. His pearl took most of the damage. The major cracks have healed, now only noticeable as a few scratches."

"However, I have still forced him to stay in bed. I want to make sure he is healed completely, and not ache and complain that his shoulder is hurting. Rest assured, Arceus has taken over his and your duties for the time being. You brother should be healed in a few days, enough to take on his duties once more. As for your father...he is doing well. I spoke to him this morning."

"What would we ever do without you Mewtwo?" Dialga asked. "The world would probably…" "...be on fire?" He finished. "Exactly," the time dragon said. "Well, it is good for me to get some appreciation. Sometimes I feel as if I'm looked down upon by Arceus," the psychic cat mentioned. Dialga became confused.

"Him and I don't often really seem...comfortable around each other," Mewtwo admitted. "I feel as though as if I'm being constantly tested. As if I'm being watching. Someone is just waiting for me to make a mistake, or even go against some law that Arceus created. And when it happens, I'll be banished from here."

Dialga could understand what he was going through. Arceus was like this with many of his new creations, however he was especially like this to Mewtwo a majority of the time. Whenever his father created something, he would test it, see if it was useful to some extent. If it was good, then it would stay. If it wasn't, then well...let's just say it didn't survive the next day.

Mewtwo however, was a different case. He wasn't created by Arceus. Humans were his creators. And yet somehow, he found himself among legends, despite his history. It was no wonder why Arceus was always hard on him. He couldn't just simply whisk him out of existence, Mewtwo had a purpose. And yet it was still hard for the two to see eye to eye. Mewtwo wanted acceptance. Arceus wanted trust.

"Ah he does that to everyone at some point," Dialga said. "He does?" Mewtwo inquired. "I haven't known Arceus for long, and yet he still sees me as…" "Is this about the nightmare you've been having?" the time dragon asked. "How did you…" Mewtwo began but Dialga stopped him. "While you have your way of reading minds, I have my own." It was then Mewtwo realized that Dialga could see into the past. The time dragon would not do this often, as it sometimes prevent things from happening, but he used it during some circumstances.

"...Yes," he regrettably admitted. "It came to me last night. When I woke up this morning, I was drenched in sweat. Arceus asked me how I was doing, and I did not feel like telling him. He already has enough on his mind. I don't want him to be concerned about me. Especially with the way he treats me."

"Sometimes I wish the events of my nightmares never happened. That I could go back in time and change them. I could've had a better life, and so many others could not have died. My own image would not be tainted by the blood of others, as well as no longer be shone in a dark light." Dialga felt empathy for the psychic cat. He too, had actions that he had done in the past that weren't exactly wonderful either, and sometimes the time dragon wished he could go back and fix them.

"I wish I could help you," Dialga began. "However, when it comes to certain events like that, I can't do anything. You may not understand why, but some events in history must remain the same. No matter how much we dislike it. Believe me, I would love to erase the events of my primal form, but I know that I can't, as it influenced too many people, for the good and the worse."

The two stood there in silence, as Mewtwo continued his work on relieving Dialga's headache. Most of it was just from the stress that Palkia had been causing Dialga. However, there was something strange that Mewtwo noticed. It felt eerie, sending a shiver up his spine. He decided that it would be best to remove it, so he used his psychic powers to remove it, causing whatever it was to disintegrate. When he was done, Mewtwo could hear a sigh of relief come from the time dragon.

"Feel better?" Mewtwo asked, removing his paws from Dialga's head. His eyes stopped glowing as well. "Oh sweet Arceus yes…" he said in delight. The time dragon lowered his head as Mewtwo landed gently on the ground, facing in front of Dialga. "It felt as if tons and tons of weight has been removed from my system, like my anger and negative emotions are gone."

"Great," the psychic cat replied. "Is there anything else I can get for you? I have other things I must attend to." Dialga shook his head. "No," he answered. "Though I must thank you for, well whatever you did. I feel much better now." Mewtwo, now seeing that Dialga was satisfied and looking good, he turned to leave. However, when he got to the door, the time dragon stopped him.

"Mewtwo, you weren't thinking about going _there_ were you?"

He stopped, a low growl coming from his throat. "I understand it is not my place to intrude," Dialga stated. "But you do not sound sold on going there." The genetic pokemon turned to Dialga, eyes looking as if he was lost. The time dragon had never seen such a face on Mewtwo. Normally he was calm and collected. Now he was just lost and scared, like he was a kitten again.

'I...I don't want to go back there," he stated. "Too much has happened there. And I don't want to relive it." He sat down again. "Why do you feel the need to go back there?" Dialga asked. Mewtwo crossed his arms and put his head over them, almost as if he was getting a headache of his own. "I don't know," he answered. "Answers that I probably don't want to find out about."

"Arceus has put me in charge of this 'Darkness' situation. Finding out information, gathering data, perhaps finding a way to stop it. And unfortunately, I've struck a dead end. I can't fully translate the stone tablet Arceus gave me. Not without the help of a translator. And there's barely information about it in this world. Nothing. No pokemon knows anything. The only thing I have found is data on the Bittercold and Dark Matter, beings that had barely any information recorded, and I wasn't around to witness, since I was not created yet."

"All I know is that it affects a pokemon's negative feelings, and turns them stronger. And for some reason, I'm not affected by it, which astounds me. How could I not be affected? I am a pokemon, am I not? And it is not just pokemon who are affected. There are those out there in Mobius that are being affected as well."

"It appears it can affect any living thing, yet it does not affect me. I've pulled up so much from my creation, data from the lab I destroyed, thankfully the data banks weren't destroyed when I set the place on fire. And yet, there is still nothing. Fuji had nothing in his notes about how I am able to wield chaos energy, or how this 'Darkness' doesn't affect my being." He slammed his fist down on the ground in frustration.

"Fuji's hiding something from me!" he growled in anger. "What it is I do not know. That's why I've been debating on whether or not to travel there. And yet...I can't." He looked up at Dialga, who clearly held concern in his eyes as he listened to Mewtwo's story. The psychic cat sunk to the ground, back leaning up against the wall. He looked so defeated, so alone.

"I don't want to find something that could possibly be the end of me," he admitted, his voice now sounding terrified, a voice that Dialga never heard from Mewtwo. "I found out that my creator erased my mind of Amber, someone that I loved and cared about. Do I want to go back there and find anything else that he has erased!" His eyes projected his confusion and anger towards his creator.

"Do I want to find something that'll haunt me for the rest of eternity? I already found out that I am immortal, whether I like it or not. Nothing can change that. And I wouldn't change it no matter how much I would want to. But what else is _there_ that'll let me know by slamming me in the face in the fact that I am already a monster? Created for the sole purpose of being a weapon. To be used by humans as a bringer of destruction!"

"There are beings out there who still don't trust me. They fear me whenever I'm near them! And those who trust in me end up hurting or dying! Shadow…" Mewtwo trailed off. He could not say anything else about the situation. Dialga however, stood there in shock. To think that so much has been going through Mewtwo's mind the past few days. The time dragon got up, extending his tail so that it would come up against the psychic pokemon. Mewtwo looked up when he noticed this.

"I think you should go," Dialga stated firmly. "This suspense of what you'll find there is killing you from the inside out. I can clearly see it." He turned his head away from Mewtwo. "It is often said that it is better to not know than to know. But sometimes our curiosity for the unknown can overtake us. Strangle us. Kill us. In some situations, it is better to know, for the future." He turned back to Mewtwo.

"Even I don't know what is there Mewtwo," Dialga continued. "But, it is something that only you would understand. Face it, there's no one else here that is smarter than you. Whatever is there is the key to stopping this 'Darkness.' There may be stuff there that would be useful to us. It's not just me Mewtwo. It's all of us. The 'Darkness' is affecting all of us. We need to stop it."

Mewtwo began to chuckle a little. He stood up and looked at Dialga. "Since when did you get so wise?" he inquired. "Since you relieved me of my headache," he replied. "Remember I have thousands of years going on you." "Right, and I suppose that makes me a kitten, doesn't it?" the psychic cat said. "Well, you would still beat me in a math test," the time dragon answered.

He began to leave the time dragon's room. "Oh, and by the way Dialga…" he began. Mewtwo's eyes began to glow blue. He began to project an earlier event into his mind. Dialga stood there, eyes widening in shock. When Mewtwo was done, his eyes stopped glowing. The time dragon stared at him for a moment. He had the exact same reaction as Palkia did only a short time ago. "Yes?" Mewtwo asked. "Oh most definitely yes. I will invite you here when it happens…" Dialga answered.

* * *

The afternoon went by smoothly in the Hall of Origin. Arceus was enjoying the peace and quiet. It was then at that moment that Mewtwo came in once more to update him on the current situation.

"Ah Mewtwo," he said. "How are Dialga and Palkia?" "Everything is going wonderfully Arceus," Mewtwo began. "I am happy to tell you that both of your sons are doing well. Palkia's right shoulder pearl is almost completely healed. He should be able to return to his duties within a few days. Though I made sure that he would stay in bed."

"Dialga is doing fine as well," he continued. "No incidents since the disaster last week. He only had a slight headache, which I was able to get rid of. Other than that, there is nothing wrong with him." Arceus looked pleased. "Good. I was worried I would've had to send him to the Distortion World," the Alpha pokemon said. "And how is the information coming along?"

"About that…" Mewtwo trailed off, a hint of nervousness rising in his voice. Thankfully, he was keeping it contained. "Arceus, I am unable to find anything else in this world. While I know many languages, I cannot translate that stone tablet you gave me any further. I am at a dead end." The psychic cat held his head down, upset that he could not find any information. He could hear Arceus sigh.

"Which is why I…" he started, but he could not find the courage to say it. "Why I…" Mewtwo stuttered again. "Why what Mewtwo?" Arceus asked. "I...I…" The psychic cat could feel the heat rise within his body. "Well, spit it out Mewtwo!" Arceus complained. "What do you have to say?"

"I request permission to go to the ARK!"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **That's the end of Chapter 14! Yee! Now let's get into some exciting stuff!**

 **So maybe I made some references to the most recent Nintendo Direct XD Ok maybe more than some. I was so excited when they announced Banjo for smash, I just wanted to add it in. And Mewtwo of course, knows all about it cause he's in the game! But, that's another story for another time.**

 **There's another reason why I made references to that stream. Now, for those of you who don't know, during the afterstream of the Direct, it was revealed that you cannot transfer pokemon to SWSH unless they are in the Galar Pokedex. So pretty much some pokemon aren't coded in the game at all. So that means goodbye to your shiny legendaries and your starter from RSE. It also means goodbye to my favorite boi Palkia and Zeraora (who is sadly stuck in Ultra DLC I cri) Yes, I am upset, but I'm still getting the games, despite no megas and z moves either.**

 **I put this reference in because I won't be putting in pokemon from SWSH. This is because this is meant to be the Gen 7 version of Mystery Dungeon (which we're probably not getting, rip, unless Chunsoft announces something) So no Gen 8 pokemon in this story. I've already got a good 809 to work with (which won't all be in the game…)**

 **I decided to focus this chapter on Mewtwo (idk why, but he's the easiest to write about!) He's the connection on what's going on with the legendaries at the moment. Plus he's gonna keep on tying in more and more as the story goes on. And it looks like Palkia and Dialga are ok! (so far…)**

 **Lastly, thank you guys for the support on the last chapter! I really appreciate it! I love reading all of the reviews this story gets, as this is the first one I posted. So I'm gonna keep it going till it ends! Rest assured!**

 **So...Why doesn't Mewtwo want to go to the ARK?**

 **Anyways, Until Next Time, See Ya Universe!**

 **Palkia**


	16. Ch15 A Premonition of Good and Bad

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! Here we are with Chapter 15! Woo! So exciting! But before we get into that…**

 **ThatOneGuest: Thank you dude! Personally, the way I see Mewtwo, he isn't just this evil villain that everyone hates. He too, is a pokemon, and has feelings as well. I find him having a bit more of a cynical and twisted sense of humor, but he does have his moments because of his past. Thanks for the review!**

 **Alright, now to get back into the story!**

 **I do not own Pokémon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 15**

 **A Premonition of Good and Bad**

 _Journal Entry #4: October 12th_

 _It's been a few days since I returned to the village after my battle with Tapu Koko. I returned after being missing for half a day in the eyes of the village, when in reality I was gone since that night. It went well, even though both Fennekin and I struggled against him. We ended up only winning the fight because of my use of Z-Power, as it's called. Turns out my Sparkling Stone was made into a Z-Ring by Tapu Koko, and by using the Z-Crystal inside of it, I was able to unleash a great amount of power, and defeated him!_

 _Though, it ended up costing me, as I fainted from exhaustion because of it. Suicune appeared to me again, and healed me. By the time I woke up, it was almost the end of the morning. From what I found out from him, the Z-Crystal I used hadn't been completely purified yet. He didn't explain what that meant, but after that he took the Z-Crystal from me, promising that he would bring it back to me. He let me keep my Z-Power Ring. Then Suicune brought me home._

 _I got the feeling that some pokemon weren't happy when I got back to the village, especially Tyrantrum. After some "explaining" from Suicune, Tyrantrum seemed convinced. But he still wasn't happy. The legendary pokemon told him that I just went out for a midnight run, and ended up oversleeping. It's a good thing he holds high regard for legendaries. Still, my actions didn't come without punishment._

 _And so I've spent the past few days in my room, officially grounded for three days. Which should be ending today. I feel bad, Tyrantrum must be annoyed at the fact that I keep running off. But then again, sometimes I just wish that he would just let me go off on my own. I can handle it! But during this time, he began to teach me the language of pokemon, and I'm beginning to understand it very well. I have to thank him for that._

 _I'm not the only one who's been busy. While I've been grounded, Fennekin has begun working on our new, well old, exploration base. Since we defeated Tapu Koko, we were able to gain ownership over it. And it's huge! Or was anyway. It's very run down and abandoned, but if we work on it, it'll get fixed in no time!_

 _Not only that, but she was able to get in touch with the Poochyena brothers again. Turns out they know a few pokemon that would be willing to help us. As long as we get the money, they'll start on the job. It's a good thing that they would cut the costs a little. We don't even have any money to begin with. That'll change once we start up expeditions._

 _I don't understand why, but I'm feeling really good about all of this. Being able to help pokemon I mean. I've decided a while back that I would be the opposite of what I was before I came here, and it seems to be going very well. Was this why I was brought here for? To help pokemon? Is that why I fell from the sky?_

 _There must be something greater than that. Falling from the sky is no ordinary thing. If that's the case and I was sent here for a greater purpose, then why me? Why was I chosen above anyone else to be sent here? Tyrantrum has said that in the past, on a few very rare occasions, a few humans were sent here that were turned into pokemon, only when the world was in danger. If what the village elder said was true, does that mean the planet is in danger? From my memories, I have concluded that I wasn't human to begin with. And there's one more thing…_

 _I'm terrified of myself…_

 _I saw my reflection in the Lake of the Moone the other day. And I was scared. Frightened. It was a feeling that I've never felt before. I wasn't a Riolu. I was a terrifying monster with red eyes. While I hate to say it, I think I prefer myself as a pokemon to whatever that monster was. If I looked that way, did that mean I acted as a monster? I've had deja vu instances in the past, and I've figured out that I was not that nice of a guy. If that's true then...I may not want to go home._

 _But, I want to go home, don't I? I want to find out who I am. And why I was sent here. Maybe I have family and friends who know me and are worried about me. Whoever I was I still need to find out. No matter how bad I was in the past…_

"Shadow!" The golden Riolu heard Tyrantrum calling for him. "Fennekin's at the door. She wants to see you!" "Coming!" He answered back. Shadow currently sat in his room on his bed, with the journal on his lap. _That's right,_ the Riolu thought. _I'm meeting up with her today to discuss the building of the exploration base. I almost forgot about it._ He looked down at the journal in his paws and began to write.

 _I have to go. Fennekin's waiting for me. Speaking of her, she's become braver than when I first came to the village. At first she was so skittish and shy. Now Fennekin has a bit more confidence in herself. She even saved me from taking one of Tapu Koko's attacks! But despite that, she still seems a bit nervous at times. We'll have to work on that._

 _Until next time journal, Sayonara…_

 _Shadow the Riolu_

He closed the journal and got up from his bed. Shadow hid the journal underneath it, so that if anyone ever came in there, hopefully no one would find it. Once their team earned enough money, Shadow would buy some sort of bag to fit his journal in. That way, he could at least carry it without anyone discovering it, as well as hold other important items in there in case they were on a mission.

The golden riolu ran down the hall, and towards the front door, where the village elder stood. "Good morning Shadow," he said to him. "Morning Tyrantrum," he answered back. "May I go out today and hang out with Fennekin?" Shadow tried to sound polite, but it didn't help when he unfortunately lacked a good record. He saw the village elder sigh and lower his head.

"Shadow…" Tyrantrum started. "I wish to tell you something. Before you go out, please, stay out of trouble. I'm only telling you this for your own good. I don't want another event happening like the other day." The Riolu lowered his head in shame. Practically the entire village searched for him that day. He felt bad that he made everyone worry. And worst of all, he made them worry them even more when Suicune showed up.

"I'm sorry Tyrantrum," Shadow apologized. "It's just...I couldn't sleep that night." It wasn't a total lie. After he had seen that reflection of himself in the lake, it was becoming harder to sleep at night, as strange and foreign nightmares would come to him for no reason. And when he woke up, Shadow couldn't either remember them or figure out what they meant in the first place. But there was one definite thing he was sure of, and that was the fact that these dreams were connected to his memories.

"Still, it wasn't a good idea to run off on your own like that," the village elder began. "And your actions even caught the attention of Suicune! A legendary pokemon! Do you realize how much of an impact you could've caused if Suicune wasn't as kind to you?" Shadow nearly scoffed at this, but he didn't want to catch Tyrantrum's attention, or leak his secret.

 _You act like they're gods,_ he thought. _They're not exactly all high and mighty. I saw that with Tapu Koko. Sure he was powerful. But he acted like a fool. I haven't fought Suicune yet, but I can already tell that he isn't the type of guy to send the move Judgement onto me._ He thought about it for a moment. _Then again, maybe some legendaries are powerful, and maybe I'm lucky I haven't come across some of the stronger ones yet._

"I know…" the Riolu replied. "I don't want your secret being found out," Tyrantrum continued. "What could've happened if Suicune found out you were the thing that fell from the sky? Or if any other pokemon found out? There's the possibility that your life could be in danger." In truth, neither pokemon knew what could happen if Shadow's secret became public. Would they reject him? Would they even believe him to begin with?

"As village elder it is my duty to protect everyone in the village. While you are not originally from the village to begin with, I as well as everyone else took you in with open arms, calling you one of our own. So that includes you as well." Shadow's ears lowered in disappointment. _I guess it's an improvement than when we initially first met. But I don't want him watching over me twenty four-seven._

"I am just asking you please, do not let something like that happen again," the village elder finished. Shadow could only nod his head, as no words came out of his mouth. "I don't want there to be any trouble in the village. The peace that's been here for thousands of years shouldn't be disrupted. Do you understand?" The Riolu simply nodded, eyes staring towards the ground.

"Yes…" he sighed. Shadow hated lying to Tyrantrum, but in order to continue on track, he had to keep the future exploration team a secret. "Good," the village elder said to him. "You may go now." The golden Riolu nodded to him, and ran past him. "Thanks Tyrantrum!" He yelled back as he ran by. The Riolu opened the door, revealing the yellow fox pokemon in front of him.

"Morning Shadow!" She greeted in excitement. "Morning Fennekin," Shadow returned the greeting. "So, how did things with Tyrantrum go?" she asked, a hint of worry in her voice. The fox pokemon hadn't seen the Riolu in a few days, since he was confined to his room as punishment for running off in the middle of the night. "I'll tell you about it later," he reassured her. "Now let's go."

Through the window of his home, the village elder watched the two pokemon run off. As this occurred, a few random thoughts began to stir up in his mind. Over the past few days, he was beginning to notice that Fennekin was changing little by little in her personality, which was a good thing. She was becoming more courageous, more brave than she was previously. _Just like her father,_ Tyrantrum thought, a wave of sadness overcoming him.

"You're worried about them aren't you?" A voice came up from behind him. It was a voice he hadn't heard in a very long time. The village elder swung his head around, and his eyes widened in shock. Behind him was a quadruped, white furred pokemon, with skin that was _red_ instead of the normal dark shade of blue that all members of its species had. A red, sickle-like appendage jetted straight out of its head, pointing upwards. Its tail was also red and stiff.

Tyrantrum couldn't believe his eyes. "Absol?" he gasped. "Well, who does it look like?" Absol answered him. "A _shiny_ Absol happens to cross your path one day. And that day happens to be today. Oh come on Tyrantrum, I'm one of a kind!" He joked. The pokemon, Absol as he was called, did indeed live in the village in a certain point in time. Not recent, but recent enough for him to be considered a young adult pokemon. "I'm...I'm just shocked that you have returned," the village elder stated. "Believe me, anyone would be shocked to see my kind," Absol replied.

He walked towards the village elder. "So, why have you returned?" He asked. The red Absol shrugged. "Eh, I wanted to see how things are back home I suppose. Is that wrong?" The disaster pokemon looked out the window, now seeing that the Riolu and Fennekin were gone from sight. Their presence, especially the Riolu, intrigued him. Almost to the point when he was beginning to feel an ominous aura around the child.

"It seems you found another one," He commented. "Hmm? You mean Shadow. Don't you?" Tyrantrum answered. Absol was taken by surprise at this. "Well, that's an interesting name for a human. And the irony in that as well. To think someone like him became a _shiny_ Riolu. I wonder how many have questioned his existence…"

"How did you…" Tyrantrum trailed off. But the shiny pokemon knew what he was about to say. How did you know that he was a human? "It's quite obvious," he replied. "All pokemon go by their species name around here. No one just goes by a name like that. And come on, if it weren't obvious enough, there's too much irony in his name! Besides, I should know. After all, _Absol_ isn't my real name either, as you've heard already. But, there's more to him, right?"

The t-rex looking pokemon slowly nodded. "Not many know of his true identity. Myself and a few others know he came from somewhere else. I'm assuming you saw that thing that fell from the sky a few weeks back, yes?" Absol nodded. "That was him." Tyrantrum stated, his face not showing much emotion. The disaster pokemon didn't look surprised one bit.

"At first when I saw it, I believed it was some sort of warning from Rayquaza. What did we do wrong in his eyes? Is he going to punish us, I asked myself. All that inner turmoil, along with the stress from the past few days, and, I'm not sure if you noticed but something _major_ is broken outside, when I found out the situation about that, I lost it."

"The Emerald Shrine's broken?" Absol looked astonished. He turned his head to look outside and saw that all that was left was stones in a big pile. "I never thought anything could take that thing down." The shiny pokemon commented. "I always thought it would withstand anything. But I guess nothing lasts forever with nature."

"I wish I could say that," Tyrantrum spoke. Absol tilted his head in confusion. "A lot has happened since I left, hasn't it?" He heard the village elder sigh. "That much huh?" Absol asked. Tyrantrum didn't reply. He stood there silent. "The village got set on fire didn't it?" The shiny chuckled.

And so, the hour was spent with Tyrantrum tell Absol _everything._ From the minute Shadow fell from the sky all the way up to now. Absol nodded, asked questions, even tried to joke with the village elder. But not once was there shock on the disaster pokemon's face. He understood what was going on. But there was still one thing that caught him off guard.

"He thinks he's not human?" Absol asked. Tyrantrum nodded. "He told me that after our fight, he doesn't remember being human. Or at least thought he was a human to begin with. He does remember that he knew humans, but he wasn't a human himself." The shiny pokemon became confused by this. The information that Tyrantrum told him was puzzling.

"I...don't understand it," the disaster pokemon. "I don't either," Tyrantrum admitted. "It just doesn't make sense. How does anything that comes from the human world that's not a human have that level of sentience and intelligence? Well, whether he's human or not, he's still got a purpose for being here," Absol began. "And what would that be?" The village elder questioned.

"That, I do not know," he answered. "One thing's for sure. Whether it be human or not, if it comes from another world, chaos almost most definitely ensues. It may not happen immediately, but it will happen in the near future. Is that why you're so concerned for him?"

Tyrantrum didn't answer. "You shouldn't be so worried," Absol said. "Fallers are known to to be literal magnets for trouble." "Fallers?" He questioned. "Those who came from the human world. But really, you shouldn't have to worry about him. It's what Fallers are. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised that after he ran out the door with Fennekin, Shadow's probably setting up an exploration team!" He smiled at the last part, but unfortunately the village elder looked the opposite.

"I won't allow it!" The t-rex looking pokemon roared out in anger. But to no surprise, Absol didn't flinch at this statement. "Exploration teams are forbidden in the village! Shadow knows this! And if he tries…"

"This is because of Incineroar, isn't it?"

That was when Tyrantrum went silent. Now Absol understood. But, he knew better than to bring up an event like that. Just mentioning Incineroar is bound to be trouble. So, rather than sticking around, Absol decided it would be best to leave. He turned away from the village elder.

"Well, it's about time I get going," he said. "You're leaving already?" Tyrantrum asked. "You know me, can't stay in one place too long, otherwise people will probably chase me out instead. And I'd rather not go out via pitchforks and torches if you know what I mean." Tyrantrum could hear the soft padding of feet on the wood floor behind him, indicating Absol's departure.

"I had hoped that you could've stayed a little longer," the village elder sighed. "And what? Stay for crumpets and tea? I can't stay long anyway. Bad luck follows me wherever I go. Besides, I have something to take care of." The shiny pokemon answered, as he continued walking down the hallway. Soon, both pokemon were at either ends of the hallway, not looking at each other as their backs were turned.

"I will say this before I leave," Absol began. "Expect many bad events to happen in the future. Whatever happens, you must let Shadow take care of it. Don't think he fell out of the sky just to take up residence in the village. He _has_ a purpose for being here, whether you like it or not."

"The Faller that arrived on the Air Continent 300 years ago stopped the giant meteor with the help of Rayquaza. The Faller that arrived on the Grass Continent 200 years ago stopped Primal Dialga and Darkrai from the world being frozen in time. The Faller that arrived on the Mist Continent 150 years ago destroyed the Bittercold. And finally, the Faller that arrived on the Water Continent 100 years ago destroyed Dark Matter."

"The world's most likely going to end once again. That's why they're sent here. To help us. To save our world. And then they're sent back. That's the unfortunate destiny of all Fallers. They lose their memory and turn into a pokemon, and then are thus whisked away back to their homes."

Tyrantrum lowered his head in sadness. He in no doubt as well as the rest of the village loved having Shadow around, no matter how much trouble he caused. The shiny Riolu has been more of a help than a hindrance. Most notably at how he's been around the pokemon of the village. For him to leave would cause great sadness, especially those he had gotten very well acquainted with.

On top of that, even if he did leave, would Shadow ever be the same pokemon if he were ever to come back? Once is memories returned, which he had already noticed how desperate Shadow was at trying to obtain them once again, would his personality change? For the better or for the worst was the question. Who knows, the Riolu could've been an awful being the past. Would he act that way again?

"But who knows," Absol continued. "He may break the cycle. He may not. He's certainly the first shiny Faller. Something like that doesn't happen without a reason. But again, I wouldn't get your hopes up. Who knows what could happen?" Absol walked away. "Goodbye for now Tyrantrum. And please, fix that site outside. I don't think Rayquaza would be happy with the state that it's currently in."

Just as he mysteriously appeared, he mysteriously disappeared from sight. Not even a window or door opened for him. Absol just vanished. The village elder sighed, now having a ton on his mind. He definitely now had a lot to think about for the next few days.

"Goodbye...Crimson…"

* * *

Both pokemon arrived in front of the base in a millisecond. Thanks to the modified Warp Orb that Suicune gave to Fennekin, they were now able to travel between the base and home in no time at all. Shadow was thankful for this, as while he had ran back from the broken down base to the village once, he didn't quite remember the way on foot entirely.

Though the Riolu couldn't help but admit that when he had used the Warp Orb, a feeling of familiarity had overcome him. Shadow had felt that same feeling before, when he had supposedly teleported himself and Fennekin near the exploration base. He didn't think that he was capable of something like that. Yet it felt like he had done it before.

He decided to push these thoughts away for a while. Before they even used the Warp Orb, they walked far enough away to use it. This was just a precaution, as using it might attract attention from other pokemon in the village. For example, where did they get the Warp Orb from? Why was it different than other ones? Why were they using it in the first place? Furthermore, where were they going?

Both of them knew that it was best to keep what they were doing a secret. If Tyrantrum ever found out, oh Arceus, they would be dead. No one really knew the true reason why the village elder outlawed exploration teams to begin with. Some believe it was because of the incident with Team Emerald going missing at Ruby Mountain. Still, just because they never returned didn't mean that they should be outlawed. Shadow didn't quite understand it. Almost as he can't understand their traditions.

Speaking of which, not only was the base getting repaired, the shrine to Kyogre, or rather Kyogre Cliff, was also getting a good fixup. Shadow didn't exactly know how exactly it would be fixed, but he supposed that it would just be a cleanup of it. The base however, needed more than the shrine itself. The ceiling was pretty much gone, save for a few boards. There was no glass in the windows, or whatever was left of the windows. Moss was growing on the walls. It really needed to be fixed.

While he was grounded, Fennekin had gotten in touch with the Poochyena brothers, as there wasn't anyone in the village that she knew of who could do the kind of work needed for their base. So she saw them coming through the village and decided to ask them. Fortunately, they knew a few pokemon that could help them out. And they apparently could do their job very well.

They sat there and waited for the pokemon to show up. Shadow knew that whatever these pokemon were going to do for them, it certainly wasn't going to be free. And he hoped that it wouldn't cost that much Poke. He was broke beyond compare, and the same could be said for Fennekin. Tyrantrum unfortunately took the money that the Poochyena brothers gave to them when both Shadow and Fennekin rescued one of them. Thankfully the Riolu was able to hide the Sparkling Stone at the time from the village elder.

"So...who are these pokemon we're supposed to meet?" Shadow asked. Fennekin hadn't given him much detail as to who they were. "Their names are Stufful and Bewear," she answered. "Apparently they're the best carpenters and builders on the continent. They even helped build some of the houses in the village. Poochyena said that they would be willing to help us after how we saved one of the brothers."

"I can't help but think that we'll get off easy on this one," the Riolu mentioned. "What do you mean by that?" Fennekin asked, clueless to the situation. "They probably want money from us," Shadow answered dully, with barely an expression on his face. He would've thought that Fennekin would've known that "Stufful" and "Bewear" weren't going to do this for free.

"Oh...right…" she trailed off. Fennekin's ears lowered, as her face blushed in embarrassment, not even thinking about the possibility of paying them since they had no money. But then she peeled back up. "Well, we could do something for them!" The fox pokemon added hopefully.

"I don't know what they would…" but before Shadow could say anymore, both he and Fennekin heard the sound of running feet, as well as the stirring up of dust, coming towards them. At first they couldn't make out what it was that was causing the dust to pick up, but as soon as it got closer to the pair, the outline and features of it could be made out.

To Shadow, as he could best describe it, it appeared to be some sort of bear-like pokemon. The bottom half of it was black, while around its face was pink fur. Its ears appeared to be white. But the weirdest part was that it was running at the two pokemon swiftly on two legs. The pokemon he was seeing coming towards them looked ridiculous. _Don't tell me that's…_ Shadow began to think.

"Bewear! Slow down!" a young voice shouted, and unfortunately Shadow's questions were answered. That bear thing, Bewear, the Riolu now understood why he was called that now, was running straight towards them, and had no look of slowing down. "I can't!" Bewear shouted back. His voice sounded familiar, as if he had heard it from another gentle giant before. Though of course, at the moment Bewear did not look the part of one.

"Look out!" Shadow yelled at Fennekin, who at that moment was stiff as a tree. Her eyes were widened in fear, her body quivering. _She's having another moment,_ Shadow realized. He glanced from the oncoming Bewear back to Fennekin. _She won't snap out of it in time, I've got no time!_

Without thinking and on pure instinct, he dived towards the trembling pokemon and shoved her out of the way. Shadow too, was able to get out of the way in time, but not before he came tumbling down on Fennekin. Seconds later, Bewear ran straight into the tree where they were standing by, waiting for the three pokemon to show up. His furry arms wrapped around the tree and began squeezing it, like a hug. It wasn't a think tree either.

Off on the side, Fennekin was now coming to. _What...what happened?_ She thought. Her eyes slowly opened, and she could feel a weight on top of her. Fennekin turned her head and saw the Riolu on top of her. "Oh my Arceus!" she shouted. "Shadow?" Said pokemon groaned in response. "You alright?" he asked, cracking open one eye. "Umm yeah…" she responded. "But could you uhh, please get off of me?"

His face flushed in embarrassment. Shadow expected to push her out of the way, but not outright land on top of here. He immediately scrambled off of the fox pokemon. "Sorry, sorry!" he apologized quickly. "I just wanted to get you out of the way of…" However, before Shadow could finish, a loud SNAP was heard. Both Shadow and Fennekin looked over and their eyes widened.

Bewear had snapped the tree they were standing by in half, all by himself. Arms still latched around the trunk. He then let go of it, letting the tree fall towards the ground. Thankfully it was far enough away from the abandoned base, so once it touched the ground it just missed one of the walls. Bewear breathed heavily as he began to calm down.

"Soooorrrrry about that…" Bewear apologized, but as soon as he turned around, he saw the widened eyes of the two pokemon who had just witnessed what had transpired. "Oops…" he admitted. "Soooorry...Force of habit." The pink bear immediately shrugged. "I just...have to hug something sometimes…" Suddenly, Shadow and Fennekin were taken out of their trances as the sound of running feet could be heard, only this time, it came from two smaller bears. Each were pink like Bewear, but these two stood on all fours.

"Bewear!" one of them began. "We told you not to run off! And look what happened!" "Soooorrrryyy," he apologized once again, his head looking down in shame. "'It's alright Bewear," the other one said to him in comfort. "We'll try again next time. You've been getting better and better at controlling you habit." Bewear smiled a little, now feeling the comfort of the two younger pokemons' words.

They turned to the Riolu and Fennekin, who haven't said anything to them yet. "Sorry about our big brother," one of them said, it was the boy. "He has this habit of trying to hug many things. He hasn't learned how to properly control it yet." "Oh! Before we forget, we need to introduce ourselves," the other bear cub began, a girl. The only way someone could tell the difference between the two was the pink ribbon tied around the girl bear cub's ear.

"Both of our names are Stufful," she said. "And that right there is our big brother, Bewear." Said pokemon waved to them. "Nice to meet ya," he stated. "We were sent here by Poochyena," the sister continued. "We heard your request from him. And we're very grateful for what you did to save him, as all of us are great friends. You needed builders right?"

Fennekin spoke first. "Ye...yes!" She stuttered a little. It was clear that she was a tad bit nervous. "My name is Fennekin. And right there is Shadow." Said Riolu's attention was caught when he heard his name. Though he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed by his own name. _Pokemon in the village have gotten used to it, but those outside it don't know me,_ Shadow thought.

"We were hoping you could possibly fix up this base," Fennekin continued. "You see, we wanted to start up an exploration team. So maybe you could help us?" Both Stufful and Bewear walked inside the base. Their eyes widened at the complexity of it. The roof was practically gone, but the walls and floor were still pretty much intact, other than the fact that they needed to be cleaned.

"Wow," the brother said in astonishment. "You guys got quite a place here." "We found it about a week ago," Shadow began. He didn't say how. "Unfortunately Tyrantrum for some reason doesn't allow exploration teams in the village. So this base out here was rather convenient." He saw the three pokemon looking around. "How much is it going to cost?"

After the three stopped looking around, they turned to them. "Well," the sister began. "Since you helped out Poochyena, we'll cut the cost. But we still need money for supplies. New wood, building supplies, etc. Not only that, we get them from Timburr, who do logging on the other side of the Continent. So getting a Lapras to transport it all may be a bit difficult. Thankfully the place is by water, so we wouldn't have to pay for land shipping. I would say we need…"

"1 million Poke!" Bewear exclaimed happily.

"A million?!" Both Shadow and Fennekin exclaimed. They had nowhere near enough money for that! "Oh no no!" The sister said. "Maybe at least 10,000 poke. Nowhere near 1 million. Though it probably would've been closer to that if the place wasn't near water and in worse condition. Say it was abandoned for like, 50 years. Then it would've been much worse."

It hadn't been abandoned for long? "How long do you think it was abandoned for?" The Riolu asked. "I'd give or take at least 10 years," she answered. "But yeah, 10,000 poke ought to cover it." "Unfortunately we don't exactly enough money for it now," Shadow answered. "We're broke. And we don't have a way of getting money easily."

"Hmm," The brother Stufful hummed. "Ah! You can earn poke from doing jobs!" "That's great and all but we don't exactly have a list of jobs to do," Shadow began. "I'm not quite sure how it works, but the exploration team has to be officially recognized, am I right?" While he was grounded, he had the privilege of sneaking into Tyrantrum's library and finding a book about teams. Since he taught him the language, Shadow could somewhat understand it now.

"Actually, we do know a Pelipper who might be able to help you out," he continued. "He travels around the continent sending out jobs requested by pokemon. Course there are only one or two exploration teams left, but he gets it done. I'm sure he'll be able to help you out." "That's great!" Fennekin exclaimed. "Do you think you could get in contact with him?"

"Sure we can!" The Stufful sister answered. "We'll send him right over once we see him!" "And when you've earned enough money…" the Stufful brother began. "You can call us!" Bewear finished for him. "We'll be sure to!" Fennekin told them. All of the pokemon walked towards the entrance of the base. "And thank you!" She said.

"We'll be taking our leave," Stufful said. "Good luck with your requests!" She waved to them. "Bye!" Her brother Stufful and Bewear echoed. And with that, they left the two pokemon in the rundown base. Reality began to seep in as both of them collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. "Well, that was certainly _eventful,"_ Shadow commented sarcastically, though his body language said otherwise. He didn't know what to do.

"10,000 poke…" Fennekin whispered, almost softly enough for the Riolu not to hear. "M...most jobs don't even offer as much as 500…" She looked defeated, lost even. "Our base won't ever get finished. It'll take a long time before we even have 5,000 poke." Shadow looked over at her, now seeing the sadness coming out of her. Thankfully she somehow kept her composure during the meeting with Stufful and Bewear, but now she was breaking down.

He shuffled over to her, now putting a paw on her back. She looked up at him, now astonished by his actions. Shadow too, was shocked by what he was doing. _Why am I doing this?_ He thought. _Why does it feel like I shouldn't be doing this? That I should get away from her? No! That's wrong! She needs a friend now. She needs me!_

"We'll make the money somehow," the Riolu reassured her. "Who knows, maybe there will be a job that offers 5,000. We'll take on the highest paying jobs we can to get this place fixed up. We'll get it done. I promise." The last two words felt so familiar to him. Like they were natural. And while Shadow still didn't know too much about his past self, he now knew one thing. He never goes back on his promises.

She began to stand up once more, now with a bit more confidence. Fennekin nodded to him. "You're...you're right," she answered. "We'll earn that money, and we'll fix the place and have an awesome base to call our own!" Shadow saw a smile appear on her face. Then, he began to think back to something that Eevee had said a few weeks ago.

" _She always used to be so adventurous," she said. "Fennekin loved to explore around the village. Though unfortunately some of her adventures caused trouble in the village. So she was constantly getting in trouble. Some of us liked to go exploring with her. Heck, she even vowed to leave the village one day and wanted to explore the world in an exploration team…"_

 _That's why she seems upset,_ he thought. _Her dream is to be on an exploration team. Having the two of us create one and not have a base must be a bit difficult. Not only that, but the opportunity to have a base that's large is right in front of us. Fennekin doesn't want that opportunity to slip away._

 _And yet, I see why she became a bit nervous with about how we might have to do a lot of requests. They could be dangerous. Sure, Fennekin was brave during the incident with Poochyena, but the enemies were only coming after me. Not her. But from what I heard from Eevee was the fact that she used to be so daring, so bold and courageous. What happened?_

They waited for about an hour until they began to hear the sound of flapping wings overhead. Shadow and Fennekin looked up. Above them was a large, white and blue pelican-like pokemon. A brown satchel was around its waist, and it appeared to be full to the brim with paper. Requests they were called. It landed right in front of them. He wasn't tall or big either.

"Are you two going to start up an exploration team?" He asked. His voice was scratchy, sounding like a bird. "Yes we are!" Fennekin answered immediately. "You're Pelipper right?" "Indeed I am!" He squawked. "I heard from Bewear and Stufful that you two are officially starting a team. You need requests yes, as well as a registration form, yes?"

They both nodded, and in response Pelipper handed them a paper. On it was the basic guidelines for an exploration team. "Both of you sign down there," he gestured. That was when Shadow realized something. Sure, he could read the language, but he couldn't exactly write out his name. Well, he could write obviously, but hence his journal, but whatever language he wrote in his journal was entirely different than normal pokemon language. Well, the Riolu would have to try.

So both Fennekin and Shadow wrote their names. His handwriting was vastly different from hers, and not to mention the language. But Pelipper didn't seem to mind, and he said no word about it. "Great, now that is settled, write your team name on this line." He pointed to another line on the paper.

Shadow knew what he wanted to call the team. Not Team Emerald, since that already existed. But Team Prism. It sounded good. However, when it came to the fact that the name came from a dream, it confused him. Why would he want to call his team that? And why would that dream just appear out of nowhere at that moment?

Fennekin of course had agreed with the name. She knew Shadow wanted to start a team, as she really didn't have the courage to do so before he came to their world. So it was fitting that he would name it. And it was a pretty good name as well. Even Fennekin had to admit, it sounded unique and cool.

The golden Riolu wrote the team name on the line. _Team Prism._ "With this document, it forever solidifies that Team Prism is an official exploration team! May many years of great adventures and rescues come to it as it thrives! As of this day, Team Prism is an official exploration team!" "All right!" Both pokemon shouted in unison. Finally, after such a long time in Fennekin's life, she was a part of an exploration team. Her dream was coming true.

"Now that that's done, I will give you some requests for you to do. Pin them on your request board when you have the chance." Pelipper began to give them the requests. Shadow began to feel this strange feeling that he felt he hadn't felt in a very long time. Excitement. He was finally going to help some pokemon! Maybe even fulfill his purpose of coming here!

Only the excitement died down in a matter of seconds.

The requests barely offered any money. 100 poke at the most. Some of them included, "Guide Weedle through a mystery dungeon," or "Find an Apple in the middle of the woods!" Or "Have tea in a dungeon with me!" The last one didn't sound right at all. These barely gave out any rewards. How could they earn money at this rate?!

"Pelipper, isn't there any other higher paying jobs than these?" Shadow asked. Said bird pokemon unfortunately shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm only allowed to give out these kind of requests to lower level teams. Your team is still at normal rank, as you just started, so naturally you get these first, as they are very easy."

His stance changed, as he looked ready to take off into the sky. "I must go and deliver these other requests to other teams," he said to them. He began to flap his wings. "Take care you two. I'll bring in more requests for you later on. Work hard!" With that, the pelican-like pokemon began to rise into the sky. Both Shadow and Fennekin stared in shock at his sudden departure.

The fox pokemon sunk down to the ground in sadness. Her ears were lowered as she looked down. She knew she shouldn't be upset at the level of jobs they were given, but it was just so hard not to. They just defeated Tapu Koko for Arceus' sake! Sure it was barely, but they did it! And even then they had to make money in order to repair the base. At this rate it would take over a year. And with the next winter coming, the place would fall apart even more with the amount of snow.

"What… what are we going to do?" She thought aloud. Shadow could hear her clearly. He was upset too. First thing they give them are petty jobs? He was much stronger than that! And he too was upset for the same reasons Fennekin was upset. They needed to repair the base.

He continued to stare at Pelipper who was now high in the sky. Suddenly, he saw a gust batted against the pokemon, shaking up not only Pelipper, but also his bag, which was overfilled with papers. His eyes locked on to a specific piece of paper that surprisingly was the only one that flew out of his bag. The wind began to carry it towards the sea.

Shadow then felt the urge to follow the paper that was floating in the air. He ran after it, leaving Fennekin behind. "Shadow?" She asked. But by then he was already gone. "Hey! Wait for me!" Fennekin began to run after him, only at a slower pace. She began to wonder why he had run off.

The paper floated over the trees, making it hard to follow. Despite this, the Riolu was determined to follow it no matter where it went. Then he realized its course. The Shrine of Kyogre. If it went into the ocean, then it would most likely be destroyed by the seawater. He couldn't let that happen. If it did, then whoever's request it was would never get done. Not to mention it could be a very important one.

Soon he reached the Shrine of Kyogre, or Kyogre Cliff. The winds carried the paper downward, now flying below the trees but still high enough for him to not be able to reach. The Riolu ran after it, trying his best to catch it. Yet it was no use. If only he wasn't so short!

However, the paper was now nearing the edge of the cliff. If it went any further it would be the ocean's by then. Shadow had to catch it. And as soon as the paper was at the very edge, he jumped towards it with all of his might. Now the paper was as low as it could be, which was probably about six feet up, and he was just able to reach it. His left paw latched onto it tightly, determined not to let it blow away again. Eventually gravity took ahold of him and sent his body down to the ground once more.

Fortunately he landed on his feet, but Shadow was still a little shaken by the fall. He got over that feeling quickly. Soon, he could feel Fennekin's aura coming closer to him. The Riolu looked back and saw the fox pokemon desperately trying to catch up to him. "Wait up Shadow!" She called to him. He felt embarrassed. Once again he had run off on his own. Finally, Fennekin caught up to him.

"Are you alright?" She asked. "I'm fine," he stated. Then, he showed her the piece of paper in his paw. "I saw Pelipper drop this. The wind carried it here, so I ran after it. I'm...sorry I didn't say anything sooner." The weird feeling was back again. Apologizing or just saying sorry felt strange to him. Like he didn't do it before.

"It's fine," Fennekin answered. "Do you have any idea what it is?" Shadow shook his head. "Don't know," he answered. "Most likely a request. His bag was stuffed full of them." He then placed the paper on the ground, his paws holding it down from the wind "Only one way to find out." That was when he opened it. To Shadow, it didn't seem out of the ordinary. That is, until his eyes widened at the reward amount. The same thing happened to Fennekin, only it wasn't the money amount. It was the client.

 **Job Summary**

" **Unfortunately I am in need of energy and my partner isn't around to help me. So, could you please get an Electrolyzed Stone from Volt Cavern? I would greatly appreciate it."**

 **Client: Reshiram**

 **Objective: Find an Electrolyzed Stone**

 **Place: Volt Cavern B7F**

 **Restrictions: None**

 **Difficulty: A**

 **Reward: 10,000 Poke + ?**

The exact amount of money they needed. A request given by a _legendary._

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **And that's the end of Chapter 15! Yee! I apologize for it being late. I've been enjoying summer to the fullest. But I'm getting back on track now. So let's get into some stuff!**

 **I added in another shiny pokemon. Surprise! And he has an actual name: Crimson. Oooo what does this mean? I must be honest, Absol is one of my favorite pokemon. I added him for reasons, but I also added in for an effect of mysteriousness. You'll be seeing him again soon. But how does he know Tyrantrum. Also, Fallers are the names of humans who go through Ultra Wormholes in Pokemon Sun and Moon. After the event, the human is coated with a strange energy, which makes Ultra Beasts attracted to them It's weird, but it's canon lol**

 **Bewear and the two Stufful are parallels to Timburr and Gurdurr. And I'm not going to lie, but every time I think of Bewear, I imagine him with Big the Cat's voice XD that's why I threw that reference in there. Also, in the Sun and Moon anime, which I hate btw, Bewear is literally running after people and trying to hug them, so I threw that in there. But hey, the base is getting rebuilt...at some point.**

 **Oh, I should talk about the request. Requests in Mystery Dungeon aren't usually high paying, at least in the beginning. I think something like this is stretching it, but hey, they gotta make money someway. And ooo that client. I must admit, I'm a sucker for legendaries XD Reshiram's in there based off of a headcanon parallel that I came up with. Some reason I always find myself coming up with headcanon parallels between pokemon and sonic XD**

 **Lastly, tell me what you guys think! I love reviews! They keep me going! Also school's legit about to start tomorrow so no more lazy me! Back into a schedule again rip but hey, this story will be updated more often then.**

 **So why isn't Reshiram's "partner" around?**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya Universe!**

 **Palkia**


	17. Ch16 Those who Meet the Eternal Flame

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! Palkia's here with Chapter 16! Yee! Thank you everyone who's been following this story. We got over 7,500 views! Dang, I didn't think it would get this popular! But thank you so much guys, I really appreciate it!**

 **Now, onto the story!**

 **I do not own Pokemon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 16**

 **Those who meet the Eternal Flame…**

Shadow had absolutely no idea who Reshiram was, but from the look of Fennekin's expression, it must've been someone very important. Otherwise she wouldn't be freaking out that much right now. He could sense her aura flare up in excitement. But why? Then he looked down at the rank of the request.

It was an A rank job. Definitely one of the more difficult ones. And it probably would never be completed since it fell out of Pelipper's bag. Then again, they could do this job. They beat Tapu Koko after all. But at the same time, what if this one was harder than the Tapu Koko fight?

"Fennekin, who's Reshiram?" he asked in confusion. She turned to him, excitement riddled all over her face. "She's the strongest Fire type pokemon out there!" Fennekin answered. "One of the Tao trio of legendary dragons! The Vast White Pokemon Reshiram. A beautiful and elegant dragon with a sense for truth. I've always wanted to meet her."

Then, she looked away, and out towards the sea. "Unlike Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza, who our village worships, the three legendary dragons are mostly myths. Reshiram, the dragon of the eternal flame, Zekrom, the dragon of the eternal lightning, and Kyurem, the dragon of the eternal ice. At some point, they were all one being. Connected. But some sort of mysterious event caused the true dragon to be separated."

"No one knows how it occurred. But the dragon split into three, becoming Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem. Not many know where they are now. But why would she write a request?" Shadow read the piece of paper over again. Then he noticed that the fire dragon had referred to someone as her "partner."

"Reshiram said something about a partner?" he said. "Zekrom and Reshiram are closer together than Kyurem is with them. So something must've happened to him." "But why would she need him?" he asked. "Well, their power basically strengthens each other. When together, there strength multiplies and they can wipe out anything. But if they're apart, they're not as strong. For Zekrom not to be around Reshiram is very unusual."

 _This can't just be a coincidence that this paper flew out of Pelipper's bag by accident,_ Shadow thought. _Not only that, but it has the exact amount we need to pay for the costs of our base. And requested by a legendary as well. So, what now? Do we go out and do the job? We have time, since we just have to be home by dinner, but will they notice that we're gone?_

"Fennekin, where's Volt Cavern?" he asked. "It's on the other side of the continent, why?" she answered. Then, the fox pokemon noticed a glimmer of fire in the golden Riolu's eyes, meaning that he had his mind set on something. She then realized what he was going to do.

"We can't possibly do it!" she exclaimed. "Volt Cavern is home to some of the toughest electric types out there! It's an A rank for a reason. Even though it offers enough, it'll be way too much for us to handle!" Shadow could feel her fear. She was scared again. _I thought she wanted to join an exploration team?_ The Riolu thought. _So then why...No, there must be something else…_

" _You wouldn't understand!"_ he remembered her shouting at him at the Lake of the Moone. _Whatever happened there still affects her,_ Shadow wondered. _But what happened? Her memories are fragmented. I wish I could ask her, but that didn't go well._ He could remember the experience vividly. Her running off. Him blaming himself. And then...Suicune and his haunting message.

"If we don't do it, then Reshiram's request will never get done," Shadow stated. "Pelipper could be miles away right now. And if I do catch up to him, he may not be able to hear me if he's that high up. So what then?" He gripped the piece of paper tighter, clenching it in his fist. "I say we do it. It's rather suspicious that a request would just fall out of the bag for us. Not to mention it's worth 10,000 poke."

Fennekin's ears lowered in shame. She didn't think of it like that. It's just that she was so...scared to do it. But if they didn't do it, what would become of Reshiram? Would she become angry that no one accepted her request? And whatever happened to Zekrom in the first place?

"I...I don't know," she answered him. "I don't know what to do." Her head was looking at the ground. "Are you nervous?" Shadow asked. He didn't want to say scared, as that might've upset her more. Fennekin didn't turn her head to him, but still nodded. She supposed that she was a little bit nervous. Scared was more like it, but she didn't want to admit it.

"It's ok, I'm nervous too," he said, turning away from her. He didn't show any sign of it, as he kept a blank expression on his face. The Riolu didn't want to say it, but he hated revealing his emotions. His old past thoughts made it feel like showing emotion made you weak. Why was he still feeling this way?

Fennekin's ears perked up. Shadow was nervous too? Why? She had always seen him as someone who was brave and strong. So why was he nervous? "Why?" Fennekin asked, her voice a bit timid.

"I don't know what's going to happen in there," he admitted. "I don't know what will face. I don't know the place. There could probably be pokemon stronger than Tapu Koko for all we know." The Riolu shook his head. "From what I've learned, I guess all missions are like that. You don't know what to expect."

The fox pokemon tilted her head in confusion as he continued. "Like that time when we rescued Poochyena?" Shadow began. "I didn't expect the boulders to come barreling down toward us. And that time with Tapu Koko? I didn't expect that he would be fighting us."

"This is what you wanted right? To be able to help pokemon out? We're an official exploration team now! We're supposed to help. Reshiram is counting on us to do this." He looked towards her. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I will promise you, I will be by your side, and never let any serious harm come to you! I always keep my promises, and I will keep this one for you!"

Deja Vu entered his system once again. He felt as if he had made a promise like this in the past. _Forget about it for now!_ Shadow thought to himself. _What's important is what is happening now. One day, I'll find out who I truly am. And when I do, whether it be good or bad, I'll still remain who I am._

Fennekin lifted her head, now seeing the Riolu's ruby eyes flash with passion. He was serious about this. She felt like she was going to tear up in happiness. _That's right,_ she thought. _I won't be alone in this. Shadow's with me. He'll be right by my side. We're partners!_ Fennekin nodded to him in understanding. "I'll do it!" she answered.

" _We'll_ do it," he reminded her. This feeling in his body. The Riolu felt as if he had never felt this way before. What was it? Happiness? Joy? Shadow felt as if he wasn't alone anymore. He had a friend now. Someone to be beside and rely on. He liked it. Then, the two pokemon nodded to each other, and they ran off in search of items they'll need for their journey.

* * *

Using the special Warp Orb that Suicune had given them a while back, the two arrived in front of Volt Cavern. They didn't bring a lot with them. The most they brought was a bag full of berries they had found around the area, which Shadow was carrying at the moment. A small brown bag that had a strap that went over his shoulder.

Said Riolu could feel the bits of sparks emanating from the cave and slightly pinching at his fur. This place was practically a power plant. Just where did this energy come from? He had heard from Fennekin that some of the strongest electric types lived there. So was that where all this electricity comes from? Or is it something else?

Either way, they had one thing they needed to do, and that was to get an Electrolyzed Stone. According to the request, it wasn't that deep into the cavern itself, which was probably about 12 floors normally. The Riolu had learned that every time you go into a mystery dungeon, the layout for some reason changes. How it does that he did not know. But whatever the case, it would not be the same way if they were to come back here again.

Shadow glanced over at Fennekin, who was beside him. He could see her fur standing a little bit on end. Her aura, by which only he could tell, was flaring up in fright. If she wasn't scared a while ago, she was scared now. In order to get her mind off of things, he began to walk ahead of her. She noticed him going ahead.

"Let's go," he said, void of any emotion. The shiny Riolu was dead serious about getting this done. Fennekin stood up and began to follow him in. The interior of the cavern itself glowed an eerie green/yellow because of strange rocks that emanated strange power. The floor itself was cold. Well, at least it was lit up in the cave, otherwise they wouldn't be able to see anything.

"Shadow, you're…" Fennekin trailed off. He then realized what was happening. Once again his fur began to glow softly. It wasn't that noticeable, but the only thing was that it wasn't dark at all in the cave. The Riolu himself felt a tingling sensation in his body as well. It was like a strange energy flowed nearby.

"I'm alright," he answered her. "But...I don't know why this is happening. Or why it happens to begin with." They continued walking. "This happened when I first met Sylveon. And even now I still don't know why it happens."

"Maybe it's because you're a shiny pokemon?" she asked. "A shiny pokemon's fur sometimes sparkles in a certain way and it looks like it's glowing." Shadow shook his head. "I don't think so," he answered. "A few pokemon have noticed this already, and they've asked about it."

"I still don't know a lot of things about myself," Shadow admitted. His head was tilted down a little, but he still continued forward. "Why am I like this? Why did I lose my memories? Why am I here in the first place? What is my purpose?" Fennekin seemed a bit confused by what he said. "You think you don't have a purpose?" she asked. He warily shook his head.

"I have no idea about that either," the Riolu answered. "It's not everyday someone falls from the sky. So why did I then? I have to be here for a reason. If I am, then what is that reason?" He sighed, a hint of sadness overcoming him. "I hate not knowing who I am. But at the same time, do I want to know?"

Fennekin didn't say anything to it. From hearing all of that, how could Shadow still, well, be like this? How does he hold up such a determined expression? At the same time, she felt a little bit of empathy for him. Fennekin couldn't remember some moments in her life. But she didn't want to talk about them to anyone.

As they continued on, they passed a few Shinx in the cave. Having really no idea where to go, Fennekin spoke to them. "Umm excuse me?" she asked. The three Shinx turned to her. "Do you know where we could find an Electrolyzed Stone?" They nodded. Then, one of them spoke up. "It's seven floors down in chamber," one of them said. "There's a staircase over there you can take down there."

Both pokemon looked over to see where he was extending his paw to, and they saw a small staircase that led to the next floor. "Oh, thank you!" she answered. The Shinx smiled at them, and they walked away. Shadow and Fennekin continued their pace and reached the stairs. Then they were able to reach the second floor.

 _Maybe this won't be so bad,_ Shadow thought. But then, he began to realize that the tingling feeling was back again, and it was becoming stronger. _Is something nearby?_ He wondered. _This feeling...it's getting stronger by the second. Where is it coming from? And why am I sensing it in the first place?_ An eerie presence was felt near them, and in an instant, he knew where it was.

"Look out!" he cried out, turning around to Fennekin. She immediately ducked, her ears lowered. Behind her, a black-striped pokemon with a yellow body leaped out of the shadows towards them. It bared its teeth as its fur sparked with electricity. "Electabuzz!" it yelled.

The Riolu didn't hesitate for a second. Placing his paws together and then moving them apart, a bone made of red aura appearing in between them. He grabbed it and jumped towards Electabuzz. The Riolu swung forward, hitting the electric type pokemon in the face with a super effective ground type move. Electabuzz went flying, straight into the wall of the cave. It slid down to the ground, unconscious.

Shadow landed on the ground on his feet. He breathed in and out heavily, as the most recent attack took a lot of energy to send the other pokemon flying. But he had a feeling that they still weren't alone. The Riolu backed up, his back now facing Fennekin. The Bone Rush was still is paws, and his eyes narrowed. Tons of auras shot out of nowhere to him. The fox pokemon behind him could feel his uneasiness.

"There's more…" he trailed off. And sure enough, darkened silhouettes walked out of shadows. More Electabuzz. And they didn't look the slightest bit happy. Not after seeing what had occurred with their comrade. They began circling them, like they were in a pack together. Their eyes glowed red with anger and hatred. Almost in the way Shadow had seen Weavile and his gang in Mist Forest.

"This doesn't look good," Fennekin said aloud. She got into a fighting stance, but she was still a little frightened. This she tried to not show. _It's going to be fine,_ Fennekin thought. _Shadow's right beside you. An event like years ago isn't going to happen again...You can do this!_

"Electa!" They all shouted. After that, they all jumped towards the two defending pokemon. Shadow turned his head to Fennekin, and their eyes met. Then he nodded, and they sprang towards the oncoming Electabuzz. The golden Riolu struck forward with astonishing speed, knocking each of the electric type pokemon with a hit from his Bone Rush. Meanwhile, Fennekin unleashed a beam of fire towards them, Flamethrower. Her attack was mowing them down with ease.

Within a few minutes, all the Electabuzz were leaning against the walls of the cavern, swirls beginning to form in their eyes. They had fainted. Unlike them, Shadow and Fennekin were still standing, however both pokemon were just a little bit exhausted. But neither were seriously injured or on the verge of fainting. They could still continue on.

"You alright?" Shadow asked Fennekin. She nodded her head. "Ye..Yeah…" she panted, trying to catch her breath. "How about you?" Compared to her, it looked as if Shadow has hardly broken a sweat. "I'm fine," he stated, now picking himself up. The bone of aura disappeared so he could conserve energy better. "Let's keep going."

Their trek through the rest of the cavern seemed to go pretty smoothly. There wasn't another encounter like they had experienced with the pack of Electabuzz. There was the occasional Magnemite or Blitzle, but there was nothing too huge. And if there was, the two had already taken them down with ease.

Floor 3, floor 4, floor 5, floor 6. They passed them all with ease. Shadow on the other hand, was still encountering that strange feeling. It grew stronger and stronger. It felt as if he wanted it. Like he needed it. He said nothing about it of course, as they now went down the steps to the 7th floor, the one where the stone would have been located according to the request.

"It should be around here somewhere," Fennekin stated. The electricity around them glowed brighter than before. At last, they came to an open area, lit up in blue colored light from the sparks of electricity. Now, the feeling was starting to become painful the further they went into the chamber.

 _What is...happening to me?_ He thought. His body felt heavier than usual. The Riolu had to drag his feet in order to keep moving forward. Fennekin however, felt fine. She walked in with the electricity buzzing around her, and she felt nothing. Shadow noticed this. _Is this only happening to me? Why?_

Then, they saw it. There, on a bright and shiny pedestal, was the Electrolyzed Stone. However, it wasn't shiny. Instead, it itself was black all the way through. A stylized thunderbolt was on the top of it, signifying what kind of power came from it. The power of electricity. This was what they were looking for.

"We found it!" Fennekin exclaimed. Both pokemon ran up to the pedestal. "Wow! So this is the stone that Reshiram wanted us to find! It's beautiful! I wonder why she needed this? But it's beautiful! What do you think of it Shadow?" He didn't answer her. "Shadow?" she asked again. The Riolu off to her side said nothing. It was like he was in a daze. _Oh no,_ she thought. _What's going on with him? Is he...remembering something?_

His eyes began to close, and his body swayed back and forth. "Shadow!" she called out to him. But it was no use. His body fell forward, but before he could fall to the ground, he caught himself. The Riolu resisted the urge to go unconscious, shaking his head frantically. Once he was done, he rested his head against his paw, holding it steady.

"Are you alright!?" Fennekin asked nervously. "Ye...Yeah," he answered. "But something feels off about that stone. Or at least felt off. When we were coming down here, I felt some sort of strange feeling. It got worse and worse when we came closer it to it. I almost fainted. Now, I feel fine."

He reached out and touched the stone. Whatever dark energy surrounded the stone disappeared in seconds. The stone itself was pretty small, small enough to fit in the palm in his paw. Shadow could feel the electricity flow through his body as he held it. No wonder Reshiram wanted this. It was definitely powerful. How powerful was yet to be testified. But it truly held something wonderful.

"Alright, let's get this back to Reshiram," the Riolu said to Fennekin. She shook herself out of a dazed trance and nodded firmly to him. "Yeah!" She answered. With the help of the Warp Orb, the two pokemon successfully exited the cavern. This first mission was complete!

* * *

Reshiram has a feeling that her request was done. Not to mention that it was done in a very short amount of time. How did an exploration team manage to get so far into the cave, and get it out in a relatively short amount of time? She couldn't help but wonder about this.

Nevertheless, the job was done, and that meant she had to go ahead and get it, wherever the exploration team was that is. The white dragon had a feeling that it must've been far away from where she was currently situated. So Reshiram checked the request she wrote to Pelipper. At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Until she saw the name of the team that completed it.

"Team...Prism?" Reshiram questioned. She had never heard of that team before. "Is it a newly formed one?" She would've thought that a more experienced team would've been sent out to find the stone. After all, Volt Cavern was a very dangerous place, considering that the place could shock you to death if you weren't worthy enough to touch the stone.

She began to fly away from her home. "Now, where are they located?" Reshiram wondered. Usually exploration team bases were either in the middle of a town or near some sort of town. Only rarely would they be very far away from civilization. So most likely it would be near a town or village. Then why was the request leading her away from any town or village?

"Where is their base?" she thought aloud. The legendary pokemon flew over mountains, over grasslands, over areas where there were no towns or villages. There was no exploration team in sight. So where was this leading her? Then, Reshiram realized where she was heading. It was leading her towards the Sapphire Sea. And there was only one team out in that area, or was at least.

"How did that village ever allow another exploration team again?" The white dragon began to think. She barely knew anything. After all, she knew better than to talk to Groudon and Kyogre. While Reshiram wasn't that old, she somewhat did what Arceus wanted her to do. Well, sort of.

She didn't always follow everything Arceus said or told her to do. After all, she wasn't born under him. Neither was Zekrom or Kyurem. However, she did still owe something to him for her life and her brethren's life, so there was that. Though it wouldn't come without a scornful look or scoff. A god asking her to do something. Tch! What a stupid idea.

Of course, even Reshiram knew that there were some out there that rivaled her power. Unfortunately Zekrom has yet to realize this. While she doesn't have any weaknesses, he does. The thought of the black yin dragon made her shake her head. He could be very reckless, and not to mention a bit sadistic, heck maybe even a lot, rivaling Giratina in that sense. Especially after _that_ incident.

The sea came into view as she flew over another forest. Reshiram became confused at this. Where was it? Usually it was somewhat noticeable, like an observatory or telescope. But even now there was nothing that made it distinguishable from every other tree. It was as if nothing was there. So where was this place?

Finally, she noticed a strange looking cliff. Kyogre Cliff. It was a strange thing in it of itself. A cliff carved into the shape of the legendary killer whale himself. She could never understand it. Why were these pokemon worshipped as gods, when it reality, it didn't really seem like it? Sure, she had her own power, but even then it didn't feel like a huge deal. Of course, Kyogre could control the weather. But even then, weren't there pokemon that learned…

Reshiram stiffened in midair, halting her flight very fast. Her body struggled a little to keep her in the air, however soon the white dragon was flying in place. What was that? She had felt a strange feeling. One that was quite familiar. But that was impossible. Zekrom wasn't nearby, and there wasn't anyone that she hated that would've been here right now. Unless…

There was a possibility. She had heard stories about how Fallers have been sent here to save the world. Irony. Humans having to save pokemon themselves. However, she hadn't encountered a human in a very long time. And even then if Reshiram had encountered one, it was most likely dead on the spot. Not many could resist her flames. Only a few. Could it be…?

"Hello?!" She heard yelling. It sounded like _him,_ only younger _._ Her eyes widened. _Was he sent here?_ The legendary thought. _Is that why Zekrom went missing? No, there must be other reasons…_ Despite this, she looked around for the voice. "Down here!" The voice said again. Reshiram looked down and almost gasped.

Below her was a Riolu. A _golden_ Riolu. _A shiny,_ she realized. He had ruby red eyes, shiny golden fur, and a red bow around his neck. He was staring back up at her. There was no doubt about it. The sense of power within him that she could feel. The energy he held. The light. The _chaos._ The legendary felt it within his body. He was one of them.

And surprisingly, he didn't seem afraid of her either. Yes, he may have transformed into a pokemon, but with that amount of power he would've known who she was at least a mile away from here. Even if he was just a normal pokemon, he should've been afraid of her. Yet, he looks like he's never seen or heard of her in her life.

"Are you Reshiram?" He asked. Well, that sealed the deal on how much information he knew about her. Clearly the Riolu didn't know what she looked like or who she was. Though Reshiram didn't know if this was a good or bad thing. Instead, the white dragon answered him. "That would be me, yes," Reshiram answered. "Oh good!" he said. "We have the stone for you." The legendary began her descent, flying down to the ground. She landed perfectly.

"Fennekin!" he yelled. "Reshiram's here!" "Okay!" Reshiram heard the reply, which sounded a bit far away. Then, the golden Riolu turned around and headed in the other direction. The legendary had a feeling where he was going, and decided to follow. He was most likely heading to wherever their base was. And not to mention where they kept the Electrolyzed stone. Speaking of which…

"So, you are a part of Team Prism?" she asked. He nodded. "Yeah," the Riolu answered. "We actually just formed our team. Pelipper came to us and gave us a few requests to do. But yours fell out of his bag, and I caught it before it went into the sea. We weren't sure if we could do it or not, however in the end we decided to do it." He paused for a moment, then chuckled nervously. "Hehe, and we kinda needed the money to fix up our base…"

Surely the base didn't require that much money to fix? Reshiram was a bit puzzled by this. "How many repairs do you need for your…" She trailed off when she saw their destination. The white dragon tried her best to keep a calm composure at the sight of it. This place was _really_ run down. It looked ready to just collapse into pieces. Now she understood why they needed it.

"Oh…wow…" Reshiram answered, not knowing what to say. "Yeaaaahhhh," the Riolu trailed off. "It needs a lot of work. We found a few pokemon who would be able to help us, but the cost was very expensive, and 10,000 poke happened to cover it." If it were up to her, she would've just abandoned this place and find somewhere else to start a team, like maybe a village or town.

"Couldn't you have started an exploration team in a town or village?" she asked. He only shook his head. "No, Tyrantrum wouldn't allow it," he answered. Ah, so they were from that village. The Emerald Village. "You're from there aren't you?" Reshiram inquired. "Well, sort of. I haven't lived there for long," the Riolu answered her. "Maybe a few weeks. But I like it there, and…"

"Found it Shadow!" they heard Fennekin's voice. Reshiram nearly went pale. Shadow? No, he couldn't be named that. "Your name is Shadow?" the white dragon asked. He nodded. "That's my name," he answered. The Riolu turned his head away from her, looking for the fox pokemon. Reshiram felt herself stiffen. No, it couldn't be _that_ Shadow. It just couldn't be! He was just so...nice! And happy!

The sound of running feet was heard, and a small, yellow colored fox pokemon came out. She held the Electrolyzed Stone in her mouth. Then, she placed it next to Shadow. "Wow…" Fennekin stared in awe. "You're really Reshiram! It's really an honor to meet you ma'am! I've always wanted to meet you!" The white dragon felt herself blush, as the little fox's praise got to her.

"My name is Fennekin," she began. "And this here is Shadow. We're Team Prism!" Fennekin said the last part out in excitement. The Riolu smirked at this. It looked like she was really happy that they got the request done, and relatively fast. In response, Reshiram bowed her head in respect. But she had to wonder; was this all for their team?

The fox pokemon handed the stone to Shadow, who took it in his paws. The stone glowed slightly. He handed it to Reshiram, who took it under her wing. She felt a surge of power Shadow's touch when he handed it over to her. It felt...warm. Like light was entering her system and brushing away the darkness. All of it, her past regrets, misdeeds, everything. The darkness was expelled from her heart.

Then, she felt the power of the stone course through her veins. The sense of electricity filled her, reminding her of her counterpart. Oh how she missed Zekrom so, so much. They were inseparable. And yet, here she was, without him. It had been a while since Reshiram had seen him. Where was he?

Once the surge of power was over, she relaxed a little. "Thank you," Reshiram answered them. "I will have your reward come to you shortly. And…" she paused for a moment, think over what she was about to say. "I will help you ship the materials you need for your base to be built. Consider it a reward for completing the request quickly. Not to mention a rookie team completing an A-rank request."

Both Shadow and Fennekin gasped in surprise at this. Reshiram was going to help them?! If she did, then that means the cost of the construction would go down! They looked at each other in excitement, then back to the white dragon, their eyes beaming. "Than...Thank you!" Fennekin said in happiness. Finally, their base could be completed!

Then, Reshiram gave a questioning glare at the Riolu. She had to know if it was really him or not. A pokemon with his name? It had to be him. However, she had to make sure. "Shadow," She asked politely. The Riolu looked up at her. "Yes?" He asked. "May I speak with you? Alone?" Reshiram requested. He nodded, and the Riolu saw her begin to walk towards Kyogre Cliff. He turned to Fennekin.

"I wonder what this is about," he said aloud. "What does she have to say to me?" "Maybe she might know about you," Fennekin answered. "She might know where you're from! She's not Palkia, but Reshiram is in the higher circle of legendaries when it comes to the hierarchy of legends."

"Hierarchy of legends?" Shadow asked. "You see, there's this one pokemon called Arceus…" He then realized that Reshiram was already gone by now. "You'll have to tell me later," the Riolu said. "Be right back!" He immediately ran after the legendary. Fennekin felt a bit of sadness run over her. Her ears lowered. _Maybe he doesn't really understand…_ she thought.

Soon, Shadow was at Kyogre Cliff in an instant. Reshiram noticed his presence quickly. _He does have the speed,_ she thought. However, the white dragon of fire didn't turn her head to acknowledge him. Instead, she continued to gaze out into the horizon. The sun was beginning to lower, not low enough for evening, but becoming late afternoon.

He walked up to her, slightly confused. "You wanted to speak with me?" He asked. She nodded her head. "Yes," Reshiram answered. "There are...a couple things I want to ask you. First, who are you?" The golden Riolu thought about it for a moment. What should she tell him? Why would she asking about him in the first place? Then, he thought of an answer.

"I don't know," he answered. Reshiram was confused by this. "What...do you mean?" she asked. "I...have amnesia…" Shadow admitted. Now she understood why he was acting like he was earlier. This wasn't the Shadow that she had been told about. The Shadow she had been told about was ruthless, dangerous, an anti-hero, doing what he thought was right. Not...this.

This Shadow was the complete opposite of what she heard about him. He seemed so...innocent. So carefree. Not like what she had heard. And yet, she seemed to like him this way. Perhaps the one who told her about him was wrong. Shadow looked like a kind and caring individual, not to mention he was now a child. Maybe that had something to do with it.

"I see…" she trailed off. The legendary had a feeling that it was probably best not to pry into any more information on that subject. Then, she began to speak about something else. "Shadow, I have a favor to ask of you," Reshiram began. "Huh? What is it?" he asked. Why did Reshiram want him to do something?

"I want you to find Zekrom," Reshiram said to him. "Zekrom?" the Riolu asked. He had heard a little bit about him from Fennekin. The counterpart to Reshiram. The deep black dragon himself. "Why do you want me to find him?" He had also heard that Zekrom hadn't been around Reshiram for a while, however that was just a suspicion. Now, she had confirmed it herself. But the question remained; why specifically him?

"Because I believe that you will be the only one to find him."

Shadow was a little bit stunned by this. He was the only one that could find him? "I don't understand," he answered her. "It's alright," the legendary stated. "I just have a certain feeling that only you would be able to." "Oh…" Shadow trailed off. Well, that didn't help him in the slightest.

"Where would he be?" the Riolu asked. "I don't know," Reshiram answered. "He could be anywhere in the world. I've searched and searched for him, and yet I couldn't find him. It's been months since I last saw him. That is why I needed this stone. My energy has been running low as of late. And it is the closest thing to him that can help me obtain the energy itself."

The shiny pokemon could feel her aura. It was one that contained power, courage, and truth itself. And yet, was there a hint of sadness in it? It felt faint, but it was there. She must've been really close to him then for her to feel this way. What could he do? Try to find Zekrom? At this point it was probably a lost cause, since he virtually no way to leave the continent. However there was some possibility at the fact that he could leave at some point.

"Please," she slightly pleaded. Was that desperation in her voice? "Please, find Zekrom. I cannot live without him. He is everything to me." Her blue eyes showed her silent begging. It looked like she was about to cry. Ruby eyes met bright sapphire ones, one was filled with sorrow, the other filled with a new found resolve. He knew in his heart that he had to do it. He needed to do it. After all, that was what he was sent here for right?

" _Give them a chance...to be happy…"_ The voice once again played in his head. _I promise you, I will,_ he mentally said. _If I can't find a purpose, I'll make myself one. I promise to help Reshiram!_

"I'll do it," he answered her. Reshiram closed her eyes and smiled. "Thank you," she answered. "Please, find him for me." "I will," Shadow made his promise then and there. "I promise to bring him back. No matter how long it takes!" The legendary nodded, now beginning to see a version of him that she thought she would never see before. With that, she spread her wings out, and began to prepare to take flight. However, she remembered something.

"Oh, I almost forgot," she said. "When you look for him, he might not want to come with you, so say this to him." Reshiram reached down and whispered something into his ear. He listened intently at her speech. Then, his eyes widened. He looked at her in surprise. She nodded to him, hinting to keep this a secret. In response, the Riolu smirked at her, his eyes glowing with passion.

Then, the white dragon spread her wings and began to rise in the air. Shadow watched her go, and soon she was high enough that she was out of sight. Once the legendary was gone, he immediately ran back to the base. _Now to contact Stufful and Bewear,_ he thought.

In truth, she watched him go. Reshiram saw the speed he ran at and wasn't surprised. It really was him. And since it was him, she believed he would have no trouble finding Zekrom. "Be careful out there, Shadow," she whispered. "You won't be the one finding Zekrom…"

" _ **...He'll be finding you…"**_

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **That is the end of Chapter 16! Yee! Let's get into some stuff!**

 **I have to be honest; I wasn't a big fan of this chapter to begin with. It just...didn't feel right to me. Especially the way I wrote the mystery dungeon part. Those and fighting scenes I find I am terrible at writing for them. It feels like you're repeating stuff and then you don't know what to describe next XD**

 **Ah Reshiram. Ok, from here on out, the legendary activity is going to dissipate I swear lol. I really do love legendaries and the lore behind them. But I'm keeping it at a minimum from now on, well unless a Mewtwo focuses chapter comes up. Really the main legendaries that should be focused on are the Gen 4 and Gen 7 legends, as well as Suicune and another specific Gen 2 legend later on down the line…**

 **Seriously, Reshiram isn't going to play a big crucial part until like towards the end. Same goes for Zekrom. I don't want to shoehorn every legendary into the plot, and I do want to give some pokemon the spotlight sometimes. Like some of the characters from the village. They'll come back again soon.**

 **Finally, tell me what you guys think! I love reviews! They let me know you guys enjoy this story and want it to continue!**

 **Ooooo what did Reshiram say to Shadow?**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya Universe!**

 **Palkia**


	18. Ch17 Curiosity Destroys the Mind

**Author's Note**

 **Hello Universe! Palkia has returned with Chapter 17! Yee! But before we get into anything…**

 **Cap: Aww thank you dude for checking out this story. I really appreciate it. I tend to explain stuff too much XD But I find the Sonic characters easier to write about since they have defined personalities already. For Shadow, I have to have his remain consistent while also changing it up. After all, you don't expect him to act like he was straight out of SA2. Circumstances have changed. And thank you again! It's good for this story to still have support!**

 **Guest: Hehe...sorry it seemed a little bit cringey. I have a reason for writing that, which will promptly be answered in this specific chapter. I wrote that chapter, Umm maybe like six months ago at that point? Sometimes I imagine Mewtwo getting massive headaches and stress because of his psychic powers. After all, he is stronger than Alakazam, as seen by the first movie, who has an IQ of over 5,000 at least. He's gotta have some massive migraines sometimes. And I really appreciate your support for this. As for your question...you'll find out!**

 **Let's check up on our favorite psychic feline, shall we?**

 **I do not own Pokemon and I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

 **Chapter 17**

 **Curiosity Destroyed the Mind**

A week had passed since his meeting with Arceus. Mewtwo never thought he was afraid of anything. From creation, he was meant to be something that was feared. His eyes were meant to cast terror into the soul of his enemy. His powers destined to strike fear into the heart of his enemy. He was Mewtwo! The strongest pokemon!

So why was he so afraid?

He knew why. Mewtwo never wanted to go back there. No matter how long he lived, the psychic cat never wanted to return. The ARK was a place of too many memories. Too many experiments gone wrong. And where he himself was...Mewtwo didn't want to think about it too much.

The psychic remembered the conversation he had with Arceus the week before…

* * *

 _ **Flashback**_

"I request permission to go to the ARK!"

Arceus was taken aback. He never expected anyone, especially Mewtwo, to say that they were requesting permission to go there. The god even heard the psychic stutter when first mentioning the place. Why, out of all places, would he want or even have the need to go to the ARK? Even he knew of the terrors that occurred.

"Why do you wish to go there, Mewtwo?" Arceus asked. The psychic sighed. "I have some...unanswered questions that need to be answered," he replied in the most polite way he could. It was hard to not show resentment for there. Mewtwo especially. "As well as I believe that I may find some leads that may help me when it comes to that stone tablet."

"Why do you believe this is so?" The psychic felt a shiver go up his spine at Arceus' question. He never stood well with the god, and the same could be said the other way around. A level of uneasiness flowed through the air as the purple feline tried to find the words to explain. It was only a theory he believed, combined with possibly a few memories, but a theory nonetheless.

"The Professor and Doctor would have studied something like this. More so the Professor than the Doctor," he answered. Hatred rose in his mind. It was exceptionally hard to talk about either man in a good and respectful way. The past didn't help at all. "Professor Gerald often studied ancient ruins at the time. Echidna ruins and such. Ruins of Chaos and Time itself. That is where this tablet probably originated from."

"I gathered what I could from the destroyed lab. I am surprised that the Doctor kept a copy of his notes. Even so, parts of the notes have been destroyed from the fire. The only way I could get a full copy of the Professor's journal is if I traveled there. Unfortunately, he kept most of his entries under secure measures, but there should be a way to access them."

Both pokemon stood silent for a few moments. It was then Arceus broke the silence. "I understand your point, Mewtwo," the alpha pokemon spoke. "Yet, is this a wise decision to do? The information would be of use, but out of all the pokemon we need as of now, we...I cannot afford to lose you too."

Mewtwo knew what he was referring to. If the psychic found something that could possibly have harmed himself in any way, shape, or form, then who knows what could happen. This was one of the reasons why he didn't want to go. For he feared he would find something that would make him more of a monster.

Still, the words felt a little bit reassuring. Perhaps it broke some of the ice between Arceus and Mewtwo. It showed the psychic cat's importance in the line of legendaries. Not many really want to acknowledge Mewtwo, since his history wasn't exactly the best either way. Yet, this made him feel better about himself a little more. Was this what they called pride?

"I...appreciate the concern," Mewtwo added warily, really having no words for the situation. "However, this is something I must do. If we require answers, I'm afraid that is the only place we can obtain them from. Nowhere in any universe could hold information such as this…"

He heard Arceus sigh. This definitely wasn't an easy decision. Anything could happen for all both pokemon knew. But that was a risk Mewtwo was willing to take no matter what, despite the negative consequences that may come out from the situation itself. Arceus turned back to him, eyes serious and focused on Mewtwo.

"I'm letting you go," Arceus told him. Mewtwo said nothing, only kept the expression on his face. "On one condition. You must promise me, Mewtwo, that you come back here. Whatever you see in there, whether good or bad for you, you must come back. I cannot risk you being there for such a long period of time. Read a little information, save it on some device in order to bring it here, then come back. Even if your image has become tarnished even more from this, I cannot allow you to remain there long."

 _As if my image wasn't tarnished enough, Arceus,_ he thought to himself. _I'm not surprised he said that, however. There may very well be something there that may make me not want to come back. The shame, the horror of it all. If I even revealed it, I could very well be exiled from the legendary status._

"I understand," the psychic said to him. "I shall leave in a week. From that time, I will travel there and collect anything that seems important to the investigation. I will not fail in this Arceus. That, I can promise you." Mewtwo gave a slight nod to the god, and began to walk out of the room. Arceus said nothing as he watched him leave. He then turned his head.

"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?" Arceus spoke to no one particular. Of course, he was indeed speaking to someone, and the blue steel dragon revealed himself from the other side of the room. "You knew he was going to go there, yes?" Arceus heard Dialga sigh behind him.

"Yes, and no," Dialga answered. "When he came to me, I saw glimpses of the past. The past few days, Mewtwo has been having horrific nightmares. Memories replaying in his head. He didn't want to go back there, but the only reason he went back there was because of you."

Arceus raised an invisible eyebrow to him, his red eyes full of curiosity. At the same time, Dialga gave him a serious look. "The only reason he's doing this Arceus is because of the work you gave him to do. You're only throwing more challenges at him! When will you be satisfied with the fact that he's one of us?!" The temporal pokemon's temper grew as he spoke.

"He came to check on me, and the conversation ended up with him spilling out his fears of going back there. I had to convince him that you do this type of thing with everyone who's new! You have no idea what he said to me! Mewtwo never reveals his fears to anyone. Especially to me! So tell me Arceus, why are you still doing this?"

"I may not be a mind reader, but I know you still don't like him. Mewtwo has been trying his best to get you to stop glaring at him. Or even stop you from waiting to see him fail! He's been trying this for _months_ Arceus! Mewtwo was _afraid_ to go back there. He didn't want to go near there at all. But he has to because of you. When will you stop this?!"

Arceus lowered his head in shame. Had he really been that intimidating towards Mewtwo? His red eyes became downcast. "I've...never sat well with Mewtwo," he admitted. "And I can imagine he's never sat well with me either. Yet, I am still not sure how to go about this."

"He's trying to gain recognition," Dialga stated. "He wants your recognition. I know what happened to him, and so do you. Even today, some legendaries don't feel safe around him. I've heard the rumors. 'Why is Arceus trusting that clone?' 'Is the Alpha really siding with a killer?' Mewtwo's heard these already. And it's not helping him either."

"Look, when he comes back, if it really looks bad, try in some way to be accepting of him. Mewtwo has no father, and fortunately and unfortunately Mew isn't the type of pokemon for therapy and consultation sessions. And when the literal god of the multiverse isn't going to accept you, then you know any hope for your survival is lost. It's going to be bad there Arceus. We _know_ it's going to be bad. It's not my place to interfere. I'm just the mediator when it comes to time. Hate to say this but…"

" _ **Father,**_ you have to fix this on your own."

Rarely, in any circumstance, would Dialga call Arceus by "father." They weren't exactly biological. The only thing that could really relate them as family is the fact that Arceus creates Dialga, and his other two siblings of course. To call him father meant he was serious. Giratina barely used the term, and Palkia even less (well let's just say Palkia's respect for things has gone down hill) The term itself was used in an honorable manner, referring to the eternal bond that the four legendaries had.

Dialga left him to his own thoughts. As the temporal dragon left, he felt off once again. _Dang it, and just when I thought my headache was gone…_ He went to his room to rest, unaware of the threat coming in the future.

 _ **End of Flashback**_

…

While Mewtwo didn't hear the conversation between Dialga and Arceus (which was fortunate and rather unfortunate) the conversation he had with the Alpha still gave him shivers. This may not end well, and his reputation may be shattered even more once finding out about what is written in the archives of the Ark itself. Those archives were and still are his life, his genetic code. It was what he was made of.

He sighed as he flew through the black void of space towards his destination. Mewtwo could survive in space. Most legendaries could. But to him, it felt natural. He constantly used his psychic powers to get around, and here it was no different. Yet without the constant tug of gravity, it was so, so much easier not having to focus.

 _Depressing thoughts aside,_ Mewtwo thought to himself. _I came here for something, and I intend to take it._ He took a look at the planet below him. Currently, from where he was staring, it was clearly nighttime on that side of the planet. Once quick glance and he could see the obvious difference from the Pokemon world and this one.

It was so technologically advanced. Cities lit up the coastline and brightened the world. In the Pokemon World, everything was dark. There was no technology, aside from a few things. There were no lights, there was no air conditioning. He had gotten used to it after leaving, yet there were some things that he missed. Mint chocolate chip ice cream was one of them.

 _Perhaps, one day I will visit there,_ he vowed to himself. In truth, Mewtwo had never set foot upon the planet below him. At one point he was intended to go there. But at the same time, that was short lived, and Mewtwo could never remember why. He might find those answers here.

He scoffed. Might was an understatement. Most likely. Probably. No, definitely. Did Mewtwo want to see some of those answers? Not particularly. Yet there was no other way to go about this. Of course, now he was just stalling himself outside of the giant space station itself. The psychic cat had to go in by this point. No more waiting.

Mewtwo focused, and quickly teleported himself into the Space Colony Ark. He felt gravity take ahold of him in an instant. Slowly he floated down to the metallic floors, letting his feet touch the ground. His spine shivered a little. The floor was cold, unlike what he was previously used to. However, it was just a cold floor, he wouldn't let it stop him from getting what he wanted.

No, correction, what _Arceus_ wanted. Mewtwo never, ever, wanted to come back here in his life. Yet there were some things that he was curious about. Of course, there were many unknown things about his life. Did he want some answered? Oh yes. But did he want everything answered? Probably not.

Before he did anything, he did a quick scan through of the place with his mind. _No one,_ Mewtwo thought silently. He expected this of course. No one had been up on the space station for over fifty years. Well, that wasn't the complete truth, as a few years earlier the planet itself was in danger of the colony crashing into it. And then there was the alien invasion a year ago as well. But it never hurt to check.

Once he didn't sense any living thing on the station, he walked around slowly. The metal kept touching his feet, and eventually the sensations that went up his spine disappeared. Mewtwo became used to it. He hadn't been used to it in so long. It wasn't cold in the ARK, and it wasn't warm either. It felt...lifeless. And he knew it wasn't supposed to be this way.

The halls were silent, but Mewtwo knew it wasn't silent. He could hear their voices, those of scientists rushing through the halls, all of them a mess because of an emergency. The voice of a giant monster, one who roared loudly as he fell to the ground. The voice of a child crying, as he stood over his fallen friend. These voices overshadow Mewtwo's mind.

He shook his head, attempting to remove these thoughts. This place brought back too many memories. Both good and bad. Yet Mewtwo had to keep heading forward. He came here to get something, and he intended to leave with it. Not that he had a choice in the matter. Scratch that, the psychic cat did. His curiosity got the better of him.

What was that thing she used to say? "Curiosity killed the cat?" Ah yes, that was it. From a young age, he desperately wanted to learn. Mewtwo wanted knowledge, and he got it. While humans, well _most_ humans, weren't the most reliable, if it's one thing he had to give them credit for, it was knowledge. Pokemon did have knowledge, but it did not compare to the vast range humans could potentially possess.

Heck, he was walking through one of humanity's greatest achievements at the moment! And if Mewtwo really wanted to go further...he could say that he was and still is humanity's greatest achievement. But the psychic cat wanted to cross that one off the list. _Created by humans...and I still hate the thought of it,_ his mind wandered.

Yet the creation of life was no small feat. The creation of _two_ lives wasn't any tiny job. It took years, probably even a decade to even complete both at the same time. Course he wouldn't know the timespan. Whatever made any sense of it was blown up in the lab he destroyed years ago. And even then, Mewtwo still believed a little that he shouldn't have killed them.

 _Fuji was one of them,_ Mewtwo remembered. _At that point, he most definitely went insane. Yet, was it right of me to take a life? Those other humans...they cared nothing for me. But does the taking of one's life who does not care for another justify it? Is that truly what punishment is?_ He shook his head. _I haven't even been here five minutes and I'm contradicting myself. I must leave soon._

Truth be told, finding his way around the ARK was a bit challenging. He hadn't been here for so long. Unfortunately his memory wasn't the greatest, ever since the incident where Fuji decided to drug him. Mewtwo wandered aimlessly through the halls, occasionally taking a left, then a right. He took another right, but curiosity began to tug at his mind again. A nagging feeling.

Maybe he should've taken a left? But why? That nagging feeling was back again, and once again, curiosity took over the psychic cat. He wanted to find out what was down that hallway. He shook his head. _This better not kill me,_ Mewtwo thought. He backtracked, and this time, took a left. He floated down the hallway, and soon, it opened up to a large room.

He stared into the large area. Mewtwo knew this place very well. The tables. The kitchen off to the side. The voices talking among themselves, having a normal conversation. The sound of a young girl laughing in excitement at the sight of someone in front of her experiencing something for the first time. Mewtwo felt dizzy. He was right. That was when he remembered where he was. A small cafeteria. The psychic fell into unconsciousness.

Mewtwo was right. His curiosity was going to kill him.

* * *

 _ **Flashback**_

"Where are we going?" A young voice asked. The voice belonged to a small, grayish cat, with a purple tail. His height was only up to the waist of the young girl who was currently dragging him along by his alienish hand to some unknown place in the ARK. Where he was being dragged off to he had no idea. The girl dragging him to who knows where wouldn't say.

"I'm not telling you Mewtwo!" she said excitedly. "You'll find out for yourself!" "Is it more…?" the young pokemon didn't feel like finishing that sentence. "No more tests for today," she assured him. She knew he didn't like those. Of course, she had to deal with something similar to it. "I promise you'll like it."

"But Maria, what is it?!"

The girl, Maria Robotnik, was at least ten years old by this point. Her hair was as golden as ever, albeit a little bit shorter. She wore a short blue dress, matching her shining blue eyes. Yet despite her beautiful appearance and the looks of a healthy girl, there was an underlying tone that said otherwise, and she barely knew anything about it.

Neuro Deficiency Syndrome. A disease that is barely noticeable but deadly. Because of this, there was no doubt that Maria would probably die young. So her grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik, worked around the clock to come up with a cure for Maria. Yet despite this, he still hasn't found a cure for the disease.

And here she was, walking through the hallways with her friend. A young pokemon named Mewtwo. Yes, the name wasn't that original, but it did suit him. For the psychic type, he didn't mind it that much. Of course, Mewtwo barely understood humans to begin with. But he trusted in the fact that humans named him this way. After all, he was created by them.

Today was just an average day for the two friends. Well, if you discount the fact that the Professor was fussing over that Maria had a slight cold. While it didn't seem like much, even a cold could be deadly as the flu. So, according to what the psychic cat heard from the blonde haired girl, the professor was sending them to some place that he had never been before.

Well, there's a lot of places that Mewtwo had never been before on the ARK. He never came out of where he was kept, for safety reasons of course. The matter and procedure of his creation had to be very secretive. Even more so, because of certain conditions, his primary creator couldn't see him that often. Mewtwo had to admit, he only saw the doctor maybe once or twice in his life so far.

"It's a surprise silly!" Maria teased. "That's why you're not supposed to find out!" Mewtwo sighed in frustration. He really wanted to know where they were going. Nevertheless, he followed behind his human companion, no longer pleading to find out what this place was. If she wasn't going to tell him, that was that. And the psychic cat knew better than to cross her. A humiliating defeat at a board game showed him that.

"But I promise you'll like it," she told him again. "I like it too." "You do?" he asked. She nodded, humming in confirmation. "It's a nice place, and there's many other humans too. You'll like them." He would take trust in her words. If she said it was a good place, he would think so too.

They rounded a corner, and immediately a strange aroma filled his senses. The sensation nearly overwhelmed him. What was that? Mewtwo has ever experienced something like this before. He was so used to the smell of chemicals and other clean varieties that this was so unknown to him. It smelled so good.

There were more people in the hallway now, walking in the opposite direction from where the duo came from. They seemed happy, and chatted among themselves. The strange yet intriguing scent became stronger, and the psychic cat had to admit, it made his mouth water. That was when they reached their destination.

The young pokemon couldn't believe his eyes. It was a large room, filled with people sitting at tables. And they appeared to be eating and talking. On the other side was an open part, revealing another human cooking...was that food? It wasn't like any food he ever saw. Of course, Mewtwo hardly needed food to begin with. Yet this was a surprise.

"Welcome to the cafeteria!" Maria told him. Mewtwo looked at her. "A...cafe...teria?" he tried to pronounce it. "What is it?" "It's a place where people get food and talk!" She said. "It's one of my favorite places. The cook makes really good food too!"

"Oh," was all he answered, as he glanced back towards this "cafeteria" as Maria called it. There were so many different smells, all of which were very appetizing. He couldn't decide his favorite. "I like it," the psychic cat answered.

"I told you that you would like it!" Maria said happily, with a smile on her face. Then, this was replaced by a look of determination. "Come on! Let's go get something to eat!" She walked ahead, now grabbing Mewtwo's paw and dragging him along with her. "Wait, right now!?" He exclaimed. "Mm hm!" Maria hummed as she nodded. "Grandpa wanted me to get something warm to help with my cold."

"Maria, is this okay?" Mewtwo had to ask. The young pokemon was barely let out of the room he was staying him. Only a few humans saw him at a time. For him to go into a large room full of other humans than the ones he saw would no doubt be interesting. Especially when they would probably be a little bit freaked out by his "feline attributes" as the professor said one day.

"Of course it is!" She reassured him. "They'll like you and think you're cute!" He nearly blushed in embarrassment at this. "Hey! I'm not cute!" He whined. She could only giggle at his response. "Let's go get something good to eat!" His anger went away in an instant. Food that didn't smell and taste bad? He liked the sound of that! "Yeah!" He stated in excitement, and the two went into the cafeteria.

Both headed for the counter that handed out the food. Along the way, scientists no doubt took notice of him. After all, it wasn't everyday that a bipedal, grey alien cat came walking into the cafeteria. He noticed the looks on their faces. Mewtwo was getting worried. What would they say about him? He shouldn't be here right now, no matter what Maria said about him.

Yet, their looks betrayed their attitudes about himself. He heard a few whispers in the back. "Hey isn't that the professor's creation?" He heard one say. "He's very cute! I wonder what he can do!" Another person said. "Is he like a cat? Does he like fish?" Someone else said in the back. They actually… like him?

"See? I told you they would like you!" Mewtwo heard Maria whisper in his ear. Truth be told, the psychic cat wasn't expecting anything like this. This was the very last thing that came to his mind. These humans liked him? Maybe all humans aren't that bad. He looked back at some of the scientists, his purple pupils widened in interest at them. Was one of them waving at him?

"Mewtwo, come on!" He heard her say. He turned their backs to them, now reaching the counter. It was a bit taller than he was, so he had to levitate off of the ground in order to reach over it. Mewtwo swore he heard someone in the background whisper in awe at his, "seemingly incredible but easy to do in his opinion" achievement.

"Good morning Miss Robotnik," a man on the other side of the counter said to her. He had a white apron on, and appeared to be making something. "It's good to see that you're doing better today. What can I get for you?" His eyes then trailed over to the small, cat like pokemon next to her. A bit of interest perked on his face. "Oh? And who might you be?"

He didn't feel like introducing himself. The tension of being in a new place with all these new humans finally seemed to be getting to him. Maria could see his hesitation regarding the situation. "His name is Mewtwo," she began. "He's my friend!" "Ah, making friends, aren't we now?" the man said. She nodded to him.

"Very well, what would you like?" he asked. "May I please have a bowl of soup and some hot cocoa?" Maria asked politely. "Ah, something to warm you up, yes?" he said. "What is the reason?" "Grandpa said it would help me with my cold," she told him. "Ah is that all? Well then, I'll get it for you young lady." "Thank you!"

The two then found a table to sit at, and waited. Soon enough, the man brought over what Maria previously ordered. He set it down in front of her. Mewtwo watched in awe, his violet eyes wide and curious at the sight before him. He had never seen anything like this before in his life. All he got were some stupid brown pellets and some weird tasting berries.

Maria began to eat, but then took notice of her friend's silence. She looked up at him, only to have him look away, blushing in embarrassment. "Mewtwo?" Maria asked her feline friend. He turned his head back to her. "Yeah?" he answered. "Is something wrong?" she asked him. Out of curiosity, Mewtwo pointed his three fingered hand at her soup.

"Is it...good?" Mewtwo asked. "Of course it is!" Maria smiled at him, eating another spoonful of the soup. "Would you like to try some?" She gestured to the bowl. He grew nervous. What if he tried it, then got sick from it? Or worse, he dies? All Mewtwo had during his life were those pellets and the berries. But, if Maria said it was good, it was good, right?

"I'm...not sure it's a good idea…" he said pitifully, when in reality he really wanted to try it. But the consequences seemed too drastic. "You'll be fine," she assured him. "If I can eat it, you can eat it!" Of course, this was coming from a ten year old girl, who still had absolutely no idea that it wasn't a good idea to give chocolate to a normal cat. Yet Mewtwo was no normal cat.

He stared at her, seeing that she was pushing the bowl towards him. The young psychic cat grew nervous. "Oh...ok…" Mewtwo stuttered. Using his psychic abilities, he levitated the spoon, forcing it to pick up some of the pieces of chicken and noodles in the broth. Then, he moved it towards his mouth, ready to take a bite.

"Mewtwo, don't eat that!"

He knew that voice. Professor Robotnik. He lost his concentration on the spoon, and it as well as its contents fell back into the bowl, causing some of the broth to spill out into the table. Both human and pokemon looked over to see the old man running frantically towards them. He looked as if he were in a rush.

"You shouldn't be eating that!" He scolded the grey cat. "Do you know what could happen to you if you ate that? How many spoonfuls have you taken?!" Mewtwo was scared. He knew what the professor could do to him if he was in trouble. He frantically shook his head in fear. "N...None sir!" Mewtwo replied, almost as if he was a soldier being punished by a general.

"It's my fault, grandpa," Maria spoke up, barely whispering her answer. Her head was down, but her face was filled with guilt. "Maria, what have I told you? He can't eat things like we can! Or at least we're not sure yet he can yet. Either way, he could've died Maria! Do you know what would happen with Dr. Fuji…"

A strong scent caught Mewtwo's noise. He tuned out the argument between the two humans to look over at the source of the sweet smell. It was coming from whatever Maria ordered. A drink of some sorts. It was a light brown, and steam slowly seeped out of it. The psychic cat was curious by this. And, unlike last time, his curiosity took over his better judgement. He just hoped his curiosity wouldn't get him killed.

"I'm...sorry grandpa," Maria whispered, a few tears coming out of her eyes. The professor felt like he was going to cry as well. Maria was his pride and joy, his reason for being up here in the first place. He could never stay mad at her for very long. "It's alright my dear," Gerald reassured her. "It was an accident, that's all. Let's get you two…"

Wham! The sound of something plastic was slammed against the table. Both Maria and Gerald turned around at the source. One was smiling happily. The other was looking like he was about to faint in horror. There it was, the plastic cup that held Maria's hot chocolate, now empty, save for a few drops. It's holder? A three fingered, grey hand, who had just slammed it onto the table.

A smirk grew on his face. His determination is what caused him to slam the thing in the first place. He just proved to the professor that he could have things like this, without having to die. He no longer wanted those pellets and berries. He wanted to try more. To know more. So with pleading eyes, he looked up at the professor.

"Professor, may I have more of this?" Mewtwo asked, taking advantage of the fact that he was a young pokemon.

Professor Gerald fainted.

 _ **End of Flashback**_

* * *

Mewtwo awoke about ten minutes later. He realized he was on the cold, metallic floor, and levitated himself up. The psychic cat clenched his head, another headache coming on. He hadn't even been here an hour and he was already getting nightmares. _No, not nightmares,_ Mewtwo reminded himself. _Memories…_

He brushed whatever dust was on his fur off and left the abandoned cafeteria. This was getting nowhere. Mewtwo had no time to go through his whole slew of memories that were just begging to come out and say hello. Yet, he couldn't stop thinking about that day. That was the first time he tried something so… "human."

His mind went over the events after that event. Professor Gerald had yelled at him of course. The human had come to the conclusion that if chocolate is bad for cats, the same could be said for the psychic feline. Yet again, he was proven wrong, as Mewtwo didn't get sick nor died. So it was decided at that point to have him try more things.

Mewtwo supposed that it is this taste for something so human that has some of the other legendaries biting at his heels, trying to get him to die. His enormous IQ. His taste for human food instead of berries. And even worse, his use of technology created by humans. While at some points he would mock the stupidity of humans, at other times he could only marvel at such creations that even Arceus himself couldn't even create.

It is this humanlike behavior that sets him apart from other legendaries. Nevertheless, he couldn't help himself. There was too much trauma in his mind to end these habits. And as much as he tried, Mewtwo knew that there would be those out there who still wouldn't respect him for who he was.

 _Why wasn't this the same for other man made pokemon?_ He thought as he continued his trek through the silent halls. Of course, Mewtwo obviously knew of those who came before him and those who came after him. Genesect, a fossil resurrected but modified by humans. Still, it was a pokemon in the past, so they treat them nicely. Magearna, who was entirely man made, was treated better than he was.

He shook his head, now coming closer to the center of the ARK. Was he always going to be treated this way? Is it always going to be like this? Mewtwo couldn't remember the last time he was treated well. It was always hatred. Hatred doubled over with fear. Fear. This emotion he sometimes took advantage of. Yet he didn't want to be feared or hated at the same time.

The psychic cat didn't even realize that he stepped foot into the area where he needed to go. The center of the ARK. The control room itself. The entire area was open, revealing a drop below him. In its center was a large database, one where Mewtwo knew he would get his answers from.

Not wanted to test the weight of the small bridge that led to the computer, he levitated himself over to the computer, landing in front of it. Fortunately, and rather unfortunately since Mewtwo didn't want to be here in the first place, he knew all of the professor's passwords, and they weren't that hard to figure out in the first place. It doesn't help when most of them are "MARIA."

He used his psychic abilities to type away at the keyboard (since he only had three fingers to begin with, and not to mention the keys were too small for his fingertips. Normally he wouldn't have minded, but Mewtwo really wanted to leave) Enter password. M.A.R.I.A. And thus, he was in the database.

His eyes could only slightly keep up at the pace of which the files loaded. There were hundreds, if not thousands of files loaded up on this hunk of junk. Just how many files were there on here? Mewtwo scrolled through them, until he came across one that he knew would hold the answers he was seeking.

Gerald's diary. With caution, he opened the file. His eyes looked in awe at the entries that lay before him on the screen. Mewtwo knew Gerald wrote a lot, but this...how much free time did the professor really have? He always known him to be very busy, but to write hundreds upon hundreds of entries like this, this must've taken him years.

The entries dated back so long ago, even before his creation. Mewtwo scanned through the titles, searching for some hint about the professor's research when it came to the stone tablet. The headlines at this point weren't interesting. That was when he spoke too soon. One seemed to pop out at him, and it caught his interest.

" **Dec. 19th- A man from another dimension"** it was titled. This was when he knew that he was close. " **Dec. 24- A link established"** another one said. " **Dec. 29th-In person"** and other. " **Jan 4- Project Discussion"** and other. " **Jan 12- Collaboration" "Jan 16- Progression" "Jan 29- Sucess"** And finally… " **Feb 6- Discovery"**

Mewtwo knew what that was. It was the entry he managed to salvage from here long ago. But what his eyes went straight to was the entry after it. " **Feb 6- Ancient Writings"** There was another one written on the same day? How could that be? Mewtwo opened the file, reading the contents. His eyes widened in shock at the text.

" _My friend, Dr. Fuji, came to me shortly after writing the previous entry. I handed him this stone tablet, and strangely enough, he recognized some of the writing!"_

"That's...impossible…" Mewtwo muttered. "How could he have understood this?" He kept reading on. " _He believes he might be able to translate the entire text without errors! I'm so relieved! If this entire text becomes legible, then perhaps we can fully understand what the ancient echidnas meant by this prophecy of theirs!"_

It was here. It was here the entire time. The answer that he had been seeking. Yet he didn't dare to come close because it was the ARK. He nearly slammed his fist in frustration onto the console. Mewtwo could've found his answers sooner if he had gotten over his fears of this place. He pulled out the flash drive that he had brought with him, and began downloading Gerald's diary.

Now the question was, where was the translation? Once again, he scrolled through the entries, trying to see if there was anything in there that was related to the translations. Yet, he found nothing. Did Gerald never bother to write any of this down at all? If Fuji had them, then…

No, the doctor couldn't have his own records on here as well, could he? It was one thing going through the professor's diary. But Fuji's? This would become a nightmare. What would he find in there about his creation? Mewtwo already had enough scars. He didn't need any more. Yet, he remembered Arceus' words. He had to go through it. No matter what the consequences were.

Once the diary finished downloading, Mewtwo logged out of the system. This time, he entered a different password. One he knew Fuji would use. A.M.B.E.R. Success, unfortunately for him. More files came up. These were similar to the professor's own, but there were more files that were about gene-splicing and genetics. The psychic looked to see if Fuji had a personal diary. And to his surprise, he did. It opened.

Unlike Gerald's, Fuji's entries were short and to the point, consisting of bullet points and notes. He went through the list, and again some of the files predated his own creation. But when he came to the same date that the professor wrote, the translation wasn't there. _Where is it?_ Mewtwo thought. Surely the doctor was more organized than this?

He scrolled down further, going by a year's worth, no, more like two year's worth of entries. That was when he stumbled across a peculiar title. " **Translation"** It opened. And there it was, the entire tablet translated before his violet eyes.

Immediately, hoping to dear Arceus that nothing would interfere with him again, he began to download the doctor's diary. These words...they were so familiar to him, yet so much shrouded in mystery. Mewtwo read on.

 _A time when Antimatter and Time turn against Space, where Land and Sea become far from grace. The Alpha will fall from heaven's embrace, and the created must rise in his place. Seven shall rise, as heroes from another world will be caught in the fight. Seven shall fall, as power will be lost to the light. Others will try, but even legends will fail the fight. But one will stand tall, as three unite._

 _The light will go out, taken in by Darkness' bout. Never in one's heart of might will it fall to the temptation of the light. But there must be ones to scout, as they too, will not be counted out. For when the hero of Light takes flight, the Light that Burns the Shadows will give all of its might._

 _Darkness shall rise to its reign, but lies weak in the sight of the white mane. But the hero of Light will be in line, as it takes three to reset time. To take the Darkness down as it remains, thus shall be reunited with the flames. And the Shadow of the Hero will stay until the end of time, with choices left untold by its mind._

This was it. If Mewtwo had any sympathy for his pathetic soul, he would've cried. Yet after reading something like this, there was no meaning for tears to be shed. Now he had to figure everything out. The diary finished downloading, and he pulled it out. His mind began to wander, and he unconsciously scrolled down to the next entry. The psychic cat looked back to console, and his eyes widened in fear.

" **Sept 1- Destruction"**

" _Mewtwo attacked Shadow. Something is wrong. He went out of control today. He's been sedated until further notice. I have to take a look at him."_

" _Something is not right! His DNA! It's...That Gerald! I'll never give him my findings! As long as I live! If that idiot wishes to tamper with Mewtwo, then no more! I'll take him back to my own home if it's the last thing I do!"_

" _Mewtwo...I fear he is no longer fully pokemon...he's…"_

He fled, flash drive in hand, horror in his torn soul, as tears fell from his eyes.

* * *

"Sir! There's been a security breach!"

"Where?!" A tall man with greyish hair and two different colored eyes asked. He was dressed in military uniform. Abraham Towers, Commander of G.U.N. Behind him sat a white bat, Rouge, who was also interested in what was going on. Both of them came up behind the man sitting in a chair.

"Th...the ARK sir!" he stuttered. Both human and bat looked at each other in shock. No one went up to the ARK. Especially not now. Commander Towers turned back to him. "Get me security footage right away! That's an order!" he shouted. "Yes sir!"

Footage appeared on the screen, showing various locations on the ARK. None of them seemed to show anything unnatural. That is, until it came to the control room. At first, everything seemed fine. But once they looked at the middle of the screen, they saw...something.

"Who the heck is that?!" Rouge exclaimed. The creature she saw on the screen was what appeared to be a tall, greyish, bipedal cat with a long, purple tail and horns for ears. It was staring at the computer, which was surprisingly on. How had that thing manage to get into the ARK's database?

Towers stood there speechless. He knew who that was. He could not forget him. Then, he heard said creature's breath hitch, as if it had discovered something. And in an instant, it fled, not even bothering to turn off the console.

"Mewtwo... **He's alive…"**

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Oh my Arceus. I'm so sorry this is so late guys. I didn't mean for it to be so late. School has been killing me ever since I took this online course (which thankfully is almost done) I won't do something like this again. Seriously, three months is waaaaay too long. Again, I deeply apologize.**

 **I had this chapter planned for a very long time. Hopefully it explains the weird scene in chapter 14 hehe. I really don't want to say much regarding things in the chapter, but here's one thing. When thinking of young Mewtwo, think of "The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin." I would say he's that young. However, I do plan on writing a prequel/semi-sequel regarding all of these flashbacks and stuff.**

 **Lastly, tell me what you guys think! I love reviews! It keeps me going and knows you guys like this story! Legit, the reviews brought me back to it.**

 **Oooo the prophecy has fully been revealed! What does it mean?**

 **Until Next Time, See Ya Universe!**

 **Palkia**


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